{"id":51319,"date":"2018-10-31T16:10:49","date_gmt":"2018-10-31T20:10:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsroom.carleton.ca\/?post_type=cu_story&p=51319"},"modified":"2025-09-30T11:30:35","modified_gmt":"2025-09-30T15:30:35","slug":"shaking-the-movers-childrens-rights","status":"publish","type":"cu_story","link":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/story\/shaking-the-movers-childrens-rights\/","title":{"rendered":"Shaking the Movers for Children’s Rights"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\n Shaking the Movers for Children's Rights\n <\/h1>\n \n <\/header>\n <\/div>\n\n \n <\/path>\n <\/path>\n <\/svg>\n <\/div>\n\n \n\n <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n

Children are still sometimes instructed to be seen and not heard. Shaking the Movers is all about getting them to talk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Designed by the Landon Pearson Centre for the Study of Childhood and Children’s Rights<\/a> at Carleton University, a two-day Shaking the Movers workshop in October 2018 promoted the right of children to participate as citizens in society.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now in its 11th year, each workshop centres on an article from of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child<\/a>. Adults \u2013 or Movers <\/em>listen to recommendations on pressing issues affecting children \u2013 the Shakers<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMost consultations with kids are one way. They aren’t dialogues. The rights-based approach makes the consultations more universal,\u201d said Landon Pearson, who served in the Senate between 1994 and 2005. Pearson\u2019s work to promote the rights of children garnered her the nickname the “children\u2019s senator.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Designed
Landon Pearson and President Benoit-Antoine Bacon.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Senator Pearson and Virginia Caputo, who is the centre\u2019s director, hosted 40 children living with disabilities between the ages of 11 and 17 to a Shaking the Movers workshop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was part of a larger partnership project funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada<\/a> called the Early Childhood Service System Project (IECSS), which is asking families nationally about their experiences of disability services and access to education.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFirst, the youth wanted to talk about accessibility, and then it became broader,\u201d said Caputo. \u201cThey wanted to talk about how to fully participate in society and barriers to that participation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

\"Designed<\/figure>\n\n\n

Youth Talk About Accessibility<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

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Carleton President Benoit-Antoine Bacon attended the event, and said he took many notes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe have a great culture of accessibility at Carleton, but we can always improve. It’s really a partnership and a dialogue between the Movers and Shakers. Nothing about us without us<\/em> is the right way to do research and inform policies,\u201d said Bacon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bacon was inspired by an 11-year-old with physical disabilities named Zach. \u201cHe spoke to these issues better than anyone I have ever met,\u201d said Bacon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At roundtable discussions, children with disabilities talked about problems affecting their daily lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Newfoundlander Charlotte Peddle, 16, has severe hearing loss. She described how a small wireless microphone helps her follow along with the teacher\u2019s instruction. If she doesn\u2019t remind teachers to turn on the device, she won\u2019t be able to participate in class.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt’s very helpful. Without it, I probably wouldn\u2019t do very well in school,\u201d Peddle said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kalea Davies, 16, added that not all youth with disabilities feel comfortable asking for help. She stressed the importance of learning how to self-advocate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou have a right to stand up for yourself. The only person who can speak up for me . . . is me,\u201d said Davies, who deals with generalizations surrounding disability on a daily basis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen people find out I am in advanced placement classes they are really shocked. My disability affects my walking and my balance, but academically I do everything the same.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n

Children’s Rights: Countering Bullying and Stigma<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

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Roundtables discussions also focused on bullying, identity and social stigma.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Peddle said she would like to go on a loudspeaker at her school and tell everyone to stop bullying and be respectful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf you judge someone by their disability, you\u2019re looking straight at their disability and not really looking at them. You should get to know them,\u201d said Peddle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Caputo collected all of the feedback after discussions drew to a close. \u201cI have the cards in my hands,\u201d Caputo said. \u201cI hand them off \u2013 without looking \u2013 to the facilitators. Then, they have a discussion with the Movers, and talk about what they heard, or think they heard.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Movers will discuss actions they will take to address the Shakers\u2019 concerns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe adults are making such a mess of things, (we) have to take charge,\u201d said Pearson. \u201cIt gives me a lot of hope, because that’s where change is going to happen.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For more information about the IECSS project, please visit Inclusiveearlychildhood.ca<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Children are still sometimes instructed to be seen and not heard. Shaking the Movers is all about getting them to talk. Designed by the Landon Pearson Centre for the Study of Childhood and Children’s Rights at Carleton University, a two-day Shaking the Movers workshop in October 2018 promoted the right of children to participate as […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":410,"featured_media":51321,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"cu_story_type":[28],"cu_story_tag":[],"class_list":["post-51319","cu_story","type-cu_story","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","cu_story_type-community-partnerships"],"acf":{"cu_post_thumbnail":"blueprint"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story\/51319","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/cu_story"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/410"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story\/51319\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":98116,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story\/51319\/revisions\/98116"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/51321"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=51319"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"cu_story_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story_type?post=51319"},{"taxonomy":"cu_story_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story_tag?post=51319"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}