Why all children should be welcomed in regular classrooms – especially children with disabilities! How would you feel if you were shut away in a place and not allowed to be with everyone else? This happens everyday for many students with disabilities and is wrong for a great many reasons. First, it is a human…
Children need a voice in Parliament
* I presented this speech as the winner of the Cambridge District Rotary 4Way Test Public Speaking Competition in August 2019 “Children should be seen, but not heard”. That ‘olden days’ saying from a hundred years ago means that children should be displayed as cute creatures by their parents, but should not disrupt adults by…
No to Religious Discrimination Anywhere – Especially in School
By Laura Panetta I think everyone has heard this saying: “If you haven’t got anything good to say, don’t say it at all.” But now the Australian Government is saying something else: “Even if you don’t have anything good to say, you can say it as long as it is because of your religious beliefs.”…
Diary of a Wimpy Kid – A Second Open Letter
Hello from New York! I have come here with my mum for World Down Syndrome Day at the United Nations Headquarters and I also dropped in on Abrams Books, the American publisher of Diary of a Wimpy Kid, to deliver this letter to Mr Michael Jacobs, their Chief Executive Officer at his office on Broadway Street. I was…
Diary of a Wimpy Kid – An Open Letter to Mr Kinney
To read my Open Letter in PORTUGUESE, please scroll down! _____________________________ Dear Mr Kinney (and Puffin Books) I have a 9 year old brother, Julius, and a 7 year old sister, Drea. Julius has Down syndrome and goes to the same school as Drea and me. Yesterday I was listening to Drea reading aloud your…
My Letter to the Prime Minister
I wrote a letter to the Prime Minister, to ask him to give a speech on International Day of People With Disability 2017. He said he was not able to accept my request then so I am going to write to him again. My first letter is this one. Parliament House Canberra, ACT, Australia Dear…
Me at the United Nations
The Day of General Discussion for Inclusive Education in Geneva When I was 7 years old, I visited the United Nations for the Day of General Discussion for Inclusive Education. I went with my mum and heard many people talk about inclusive education and why it’s important for every child. On the way back to…
Laura 4 Inclusion 