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 11 - 20 of 231 Records
New Disability Categories
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- Creator: Giangreco, Michael F., 1956-.
- Date Created: 1999
- Description: The cartoon shows four people in the panel. On the left of the panel is a height measure from 1 to 6 feet. The first person the right of the height measure is a dark skinned woman holding two packages with bags full of packages at her feet. Above her head it says "Chronic Shopping Syndrome." To her right is a very tall bald man above his head it says "Follically Impaired." To the right of him is a very small woman above her head it says "Vertically Challenged." To the right of her is a medium height man with long blond hair above him it says "Color Blind." The tag line reads "Congress authorizes the addition of four new disability categories to the Americans with Disabilities Act."
- Parent Collections: Absurdities and Realities of Special Education, Flying by the Seat of Your Pants
High Standards
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- Creator: Giangreco, Michael F., 1956-.
- Date Created: 1999
- Description: The cartoon shows Mr. Moody (administrator) standing on a chair reaching up to the top shelf of a book shelf. The labels on the shelves say Reports, Journals, and the top shelf he is reaching toward says Standards. It looks like he may fall. The tag lines reads "Mr. Moody complies with his district's promise to maintain high standards."
- Parent Collections: Absurdities and Realities of Special Education, Flying by the Seat of Your Pants
Stone-Age Shaping
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- Creator: Giangreco, Michael F., 1956-.
- Date Created: 1999
- Description: The cartoon shows three panels with a father and son from the stone-age. In all the panels there is a fire with a bird cooking on a spit, a stone wheel, and a spear. The first panel shows the son and his father sitting near the fire. The Father asks, "Son, show me cooking." The son is pointing to the spear with a questions mark over his head. The father says "No you are cold." In the second panel the son points to the wheel and the father says, "You're getting warmer." In the third panel the son is pointing to the fire with the bird cooking over it and the father says, "You're Hot, Hot!" The tag line reads "Stone-Age origins of shaping."
- Parent Collections: Absurdities and Realities of Special Education, Flying by the Seat of Your Pants
Dry Heat
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- Creator: Giangreco, Michael F., 1956-.
- Date Created: 1999
- Description: The cartoon shows a large group of people sitting around a table all talking at once. One person looks to the guy beside him and says "Is it me, or is there a lot of hot air in this room?" The guy responds "Yes, but it's a dry heat." The tag line reads "Alan always looks for the positive in every situation."
- Parent Collections: Absurdities and Realities of Special Education, Flying by the Seat of Your Pants
Long Arm of the Law
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- Creator: Giangreco, Michael F., 1956-.
- Date Created: 2000
- Description: The cartoon shows a crowd of people at a conference. The title of the conference on a banner reads, "Welcome to the IDEA Violators Annual Conference." There is a sandwich board that reads, "Keynote: How to Avoid Compliance and Penalties at the Same Time." There is a long shadow of an arm reaching toward the crowd. The tag line reads, "When it comes to enforcing IDEA, The long arm of the law isn't long enough."
- Parent Collections: Absurdities and Realities of Special Education, Teaching Old Logs New Tricks
One in a Million
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- Creator: Giangreco, Michael F., 1956-.
- Date Created: 2000
- Description: The cartoon shows two women talking. The woman in the lower right side of the panel is asking the other woman, "Can you tell me about Jody's disabilities?" The other woman in the left side of the panel, Mrs. Smith, responds "Let's just say she's "One in a million, Literally." The tag line reads, "Mrs. Smith always looks for the positive ways to describe the uniqueness of each student."
- Parent Collections: Absurdities and Realities of Special Education, Teaching Old Logs New Tricks
Do As I Say
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- Creator: Giangreco, Michael F., 1956-.
- Date Created: 2000
- Description: The cartoon shows a full classroom of university students with a professor at the front of the class. A student asks, "Professor, I know you said we should be merging Regular Ed and Special Ed into one unified system. Can you explain how you pulled it off at the University level?" The professor responds "Well, it's very challenging. We haven't actually been able to get the two sides to fully cooperate. But don't let our shortcomings hold you back." The tag line reads, "Do As I Say! Not As I Do!"
- Parent Collections: Absurdities and Realities of Special Education, Teaching Old Logs New Tricks
Sustained Silent Breathing
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- Creator: Giangreco, Michael F., 1956-.
- Date Created: 2000
- Description: The cartoon shows a group of educators having a meeting around a table. One of the men is saying, "We've identified an objective that will allow Davey to be included in all class activities." to which Mrs. Jones replies, "But this doesn't need to be a goal! He can already do this!" The tag line reads, " Mrs. Jones expresses her concern about the objective: 'During a variety of activities, Davey will demonstrate sustained silent breathing 100% of the time.'"
- Parent Collections: Absurdities and Realities of Special Education, Teaching Old Logs New Tricks
Job Coach
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- Creator: Giangreco, Michael F., 1956-.
- Date Created: 1999
- Description: The cartoon shows four people in a fast food restaurant. Two of the people, a young man and a job coach, are standing inside of a bright yellow field of light. And two men are standing just outside the field of light. The tag line reads, "Tim notices a mysterious force-field around his job coach that co-workers cannot penetrate."
- Parent Collections: Absurdities and Realities of Special Education, Flying by the Seat of Your Pants
Sustained Silent Reading
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- Creator: Giangreco, Michael F., 1956-.
- Date Created: 1999
- Description: The cartoon shows a man with very long gray hair and beard sitting in front of a class of students sleeping. All the students in the class appear old with gray hair and beards and are sleeping too. The teacher, Mr. Winkle is sleeping with a book open in front of him on the desk. The tag line reads "Mr. Winkle's second grade class sets a new record for sustained silent reading."
- Parent Collections: Absurdities and Realities of Special Education, Flying by the Seat of Your Pants