Absurdities and Realities of Special Education
Absurdities and Realities of Special Education: The University of Vermont Center for Digital Initiatives Collection is a complete set of all of the cartoons created by Michael Giangreco with the assistance of the artist Kevin Ruelle. This includes a total of 335 cartoons from four previously published books and searchable CD that went "out of print" in 2019 and a few newer cartoons. Michael Giangreco created the original ideas, text, and sketches for each cartoon and Kevin Ruelle redrew the sketches.
The cartoons in the first three books all were originally in black and white. That was a conscious decision, both for aesthetic and practical reasons. The cartoons were designed to be easily copied on to overhead transparencies for display in classes, workshops, and other learning environments. A group called Alliance for Inclusive Education (ALLFIE) requested permission to use one of the cartoons on the cover of their magazine and subsequently colorized it. Prompted by Giangreco’s colleagues associated with ALLFIE, Giangreco and Ruelle began to colorize the rest of the images. In this complete digital collection, we have included a total of 335 different digital images; including the 315 different cartoons from the four earlier books, 12 cartoons that were on the CD only, and eight that were not included in any of the previously published books or CD.
Cartoons from the early books have found their way on to the pages of many newsletters disseminated by schools, parent groups, disability advocacy organizations, and professional associations. They have appeared in books, manuals, and journals; a few were even published in a law journal. The cartoons have been used extensively as projected slides or within learning activities in college classes, at conferences, in workshops, and at other meetings. Parents have framed cartoons that closely reflected their own experiences and hung them in their homes or offices. Other parents have used them in meetings with professionals to help get their points across. They have been given as gifts to people who "get it" and handed out as door prizes. The Vermont Coalition for Disability Rights used them as part of "Disability Awareness Day" at the Vermont legislature. The cartoons can be used in innumerable creative ways.
Showing 131 - 140 of 228 Records
Whole Language
-
Image nop
- Creator: Giangreco, Michael F., 1956-.
- Date Created: 1999
- Description: The cartoon shows Mr. Moody sitting at a desk with papers and a phone on it. He is on the phone and says, "You're darn right I'm in favor of a whole language! Those partial language approaches are completely inadequate." The tag line reads "Mr. Moody left the district in-service on teaching reading before they discussed the importance of combining literature and phonics."
- Parent Collections: Absurdities and Realities of Special Education, Flying by the Seat of Your Pants
Mr. IEP
-
Image nop
- Creator: Giangreco, Michael F., 1956-.
- Date Created: 1999
- Description: The cartoon shows a coffee maker and instructions how to make an IEP with it. The cartoon says "Introducing…Mr. IEP 1. Insert student needs packet (shows putting coffee filter into the coffee maker) 2. Pour in 8 cups of possible IEP goals (shows water pouring into the back of the coffee maker) 3. Turn On Mr. IEP (shows where to turn on the coffee maker) Enjoy perfect IEPs every time!" The tag line reads "Special educators invent misguided automated approaches."
- Parent Collections: Absurdities and Realities of Special Education, Flying by the Seat of Your Pants
Recycling
-
Image nop
- Creator: Giangreco, Michael F., 1956-.
- Date Created: 1999
- Description: The cartoon shows two educators talking in front of a filing cabinet. The woman says "Tom's IEP is due soon. What should we do?" The man responds "No sweat. I've saved every IEP I've ever written over the past 15 years. Pick one and we'll go from there." The tag line reads, "Recycling Gone Bad."
- Parent Collections: Absurdities and Realities of Special Education, Flying by the Seat of Your Pants
Oops!
-
Image nop
- Creator: Giangreco, Michael F., 1956-.
- Date Created: 1999
- Description: The cartoon shows two men on a sidewalk one in a wheelchair and one behind the wheelchair holding the handles no longer attached to the back of the wheelchair. As the wheelchair speeds away the man in the chair has his hands up in the air and a frightened look on his face. The man behind the wheelchair has a huge eyes and says "Oops!" The tag line reads "Harold regrets not attending the in-service on wheelchair safety."
- Parent Collections: Absurdities and Realities of Special Education, Flying by the Seat of Your Pants
Career Development
-
Image nop
- Creator: Giangreco, Michael F., 1956-.
- Date Created: 2000
- Description: The cartoon has three panels diagonally across from the bottom right to the top left in a stepwise arrangement. Starting at the bottom right corner the panels has three people following three rulers. The caption at the top of this frame is, "Following the rules" There is an arrow pointing to the next (middle) panel. That panel shows a man with an angry face bending a ruler. The caption at the top of this panel says, "Bending the rules." and has an arrow pointing to the top left corner panel that shows an older man breaking a ruler. The caption says. "Breaking the rules" In the lower right side of the panel is written, "Stages of Career Development" The tag line reads, "How professionals respond to rules that don't make sense."
- Parent Collections: Absurdities and Realities of Special Education, Teaching Old Logs New Tricks
Laboratory Retriever
-
Image nop
- Creator: Giangreco, Michael F., 1956-.
- Date Created: 2000
- Description: This cartoon shows a group of people sitting around a lab table with scientific instruments in front of them. One person is in a wheelchair and a happy (tail-wagging) dog standing on it's hind legs with it's paws on the table is handing him an instrument with his mouth. The person in the wheelchair says, "Thanks!" The tag line reads, "Laboratory Retriever."
- Parent Collections: Absurdities and Realities of Special Education, Teaching Old Logs New Tricks
Typo?
-
Image nop
- Creator: Giangreco, Michael F., 1956-.
- Date Created: 2000
- Description: The cartoon shows two people talking, a man sitting behind a desk, and a woman standing on the other side of the desk. The woman is saying, "I think there is a typo in the job title next to this person's name." The man behind the desk says, "No. It's correct. Paraeducators are part of our new recruitment of unemployed actors. We can pay less for paraeducators because they don't hold a current membership to the screen guild." The tag line reads, "What happens when personnel availability and money get tight."
- Parent Collections: Absurdities and Realities of Special Education, Teaching Old Logs New Tricks
Black Hole
-
Image nop
- Creator: Giangreco, Michael F., 1956-.
- Date Created: 2000
- Description: The cartoon shows a spaceship out in deep space heading for a black Hole. There is a sign on the edge of the Black Hole that reads, "Welcome to the Black Hole of Special Education." Someone on the spaceship says, "Captain, I've heard tales. But I thought they were myths!" To which the Captain replies, "Apparently not! Engineering, reverse thrusters Full Power!" The tag line reads, "Boldly not going where too many others have gone before!"
- Parent Collections: Absurdities and Realities of Special Education, Teaching Old Logs New Tricks
Roots of Special Education
-
Image nop
- Creator: Giangreco, Michael F., 1956-.
- Date Created: 2000
- Description: The cartoon shows Rita tending to her garden of root vegetables. The image depicts a cross-section so you can see the roots growing under ground. Each different type of vegetable has a different label: (a) "Access," (b) "Individualization," (c) "Quality Instruction," and (d) "Meaningful Outcomes." The tag line reads, "Rita returns to dig up the roots of special education."
- Parent Collections: Absurdities and Realities of Special Education, Teaching Old Logs New Tricks
Weeds or Wildflowers?
-
Image nop
- Creator: Giangreco, Michael F., 1956-.
- Date Created: 2000
- Description: The cartoon shows a group of monks sitting in a circle in a field surrounds wildflowers in bloom. One of the monks says, "Master, speak to us of labeling." The Master replies, "Long ago, flowers had no names. Each was treasured for its unique beauty. Then someone decided to label some flowers as weeds and convince others that they were undesirable. Still today when people look, some see a weed, while others see a wild flower." The tag line reads, "What do you choose to see? Weeds or wildflowers?"
- Parent Collections: Absurdities and Realities of Special Education, Teaching Old Logs New Tricks