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 - 12 of 12 Records
Swinging
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- Creator: Giangreco, Michael F., 1956-.
- Date Created: 1998
- Description: This cartoon has two panels offset stepwise. In the upper panel shows three friends standing at a swing set in the park. One friend says, "There are only two swings, and three of us!" Another of the friends says, "I have an idea!" In the lower panel the three friends have found a way to combine the two swings so all three are swinging as they are all smiling and saying, "WHEEEEE!!" The tag line reads, "Friends apply lessons of creative problem solving to everyday life."
- Parent Collections: Absurdities and Realities of Special Education, Ants in His Pants
Three Faces of Beav
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- Creator: Giangreco, Michael F., 1956-.
- Date Created: 2000
- Description: The cartoon show a boy who is meant to be a parody of the classic character, Beaver Cleaver from the classic 1960s TV series "Let it to Beaver." He is shown with three faces, oriented left, center, and right, as a parody of the classic film, "The Three Faces of Eve." The left facing Beaver looks grumpy as he says, "Cut it out Lumpy! You know how bad you feel when people tease you!" Under this face is the label, "Advocate." The center facing Beaver is smiling and looking up while saying, "You know Eddie, for a sneaky guy, you can be pretty neat when you wanna be." Under this face is the label, "Looking for the good in everyone." The right facing Beaver is smiling and looking up while saying, "Golly Wally, I felt real proud to have you as my big brother when I saw how nice you were to that new kid." Under this face is the label, "Acknowledging others." The tag line reads, "The Three Faces of Beav."
- Parent Collections: Absurdities and Realities of Special Education, Teaching Old Logs New Tricks