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 241 - 250 of 342 Records
Slim Plan
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- Creator: Giangreco, Michael F., 1956-.
- Date Created: 1999
- Description: The cartoon shows three panels. In the first panel is a woman happy and smiling. The caption at the top of the panel reads "I lost inches and pounds off my IEPs using slim plan. You can too." The lower left panel shows "Before" the same woman is holding a huge pile of papers in the panel it reads, "My IEPs were bloated, thick, and weak. I had unwanted inches and unsightly goals and objectives." The panel on the right says "After" and shows the happy woman again and reads "Now my IEPs are slim, lean and strong. I feel better and I have more energy." the tag line reads "Helen helps herself have healthier habits."
- Parent Collections: Absurdities and Realities of Special Education, Flying by the Seat of Your Pants
Bending Over Backwards
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- Creator: Giangreco, Michael F., 1956-.
- Date Created: 1999
- Description: The cartoon shows a classroom teacher and a student at a desk. The teacher is doing a back bend and pointing at the students work. The teacher says "Nice work Melanie!" and the Melanie says "Thanks for your help Mrs. V." The tag line reads "Mrs. V. is the kind of classroom teacher who bends over backwards for all of her students."
- Parent Collections: Absurdities and Realities of Special Education, Flying by the Seat of Your Pants
Pedaling
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- Creator: Giangreco, Michael F., 1956-.
- Date Created: 1999
- Description: The cartoon shows a man working hard riding a bike. He is holding the brakes on and there is smoke coming from the brake pads. There are two turtles in the foreground of the panel walking a little faster than the bike rider and looking up at him. The tag line reads "Generating and evaluating ideas simultaneously is like trying to ride a bike by pedaling with the brakes on."
- Parent Collections: Absurdities and Realities of Special Education, Flying by the Seat of Your Pants
A Tale of Two Schools
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- Creator: Giangreco, Michael F., 1956-.
- Date Created: 1999
- Description: The cartoon has two panels, top and bottom. The top panel shows two people across a table from each other. The person to the right has two large stacks of books next to him. The person to the left says, "Are we ready to include students with more severe disabilities in regular class?." The second person says, "As soon as I finish reading these books on inclusion and draft our long-range plan... We should be ready in 7 or 8 years." The bottom panel has two people facing each other, both holding a piece of paper. The person on the left says, "I'm sure glad we got started including and supporting all our students in regular classes." The person to the right says, "Me too! I know we'll learn things along the way from our success and mistakes." The tag line under the cartoon reads, "A tale of two schools."
- Parent Collections: Absurdities and Realities of Special Education, Flying by the Seat of Your Pants
Hell-Bent on Helping
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- Creator: Giangreco, Michael F., 1956-.
- Date Created: 1999
- Description: The cartoon shows two people one in a wheelchair and one on crutches. The person in the wheelchair says to the person on the crutches "The only problem with people in the helping professions is that they are constantly wanting to help you." The person on the crutches says "Go figure?" The tag line reads "Hell-Bent on Helping." A note on the left says, "Inspired by Emma VanderKlift"
- Parent Collections: Absurdities and Realities of Special Education, Flying by the Seat of Your Pants
Flush It!
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- Creator: Giangreco, Michael F., 1956-.
- Date Created: 2000
- Description: The cartoon shows a toilet with four buckets of money being poured into it; each with a different label: (a) Inadequate Instruction, (b) Questionable Curriculum, (c) Untrained Staff, and (d) Inadequate Staffing Ratios. The tag line reads, "Unless you spend enough money to meet a basic threshold of effectiveness, you might as well just flush it!"
- Parent Collections: Absurdities and Realities of Special Education, Teaching Old Logs New Tricks
Treadmill Of Change
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- Creator: Giangreco, Michael F., 1956-.
- Date Created: 2000
- Description: The cartoon shows two men running on treadmills with a carrot on a stick tied to the front of the treadmills. There is a big yellow star on the wall and in the star it reads, "Vision: Great Services." The man on the treadmill on the right side of the panel is saying, "I don't get it! I can see where we're headed, we have the skills, the incentives and resources. But nothing seems to change!" The man on the treadmill on the right side of the panel says, "We need a better action plan!" The tag line reads, "The treadmill of change." The tag line on the left reads, "Inspired by Tim Knoster."
- Parent Collections: Absurdities and Realities of Special Education, Teaching Old Logs New Tricks
New Scholarship
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- Creator: Giangreco, Michael F., 1956-.
- Date Created: 2000
- Description: The cartoon shows three men and one woman sitting around a table. The man sitting on the left of the panel is saying "I'm sorry, but these materials are totally unacceptable scholarship." The woman sitting in the middle of the panel says, "I concur. They use completely understandable language, are concise, and could be used by people without an advanced education." The man to her right replies, "Plus, they seem to elicit laughter, and we certainly can't have that in serious scholarship." The fourth man is sitting with his back to the panel and is writing on papers. The tag line reads, "University Promotion Mishap #3: New scholarship meets old scholars."
- Parent Collections: Absurdities and Realities of Special Education, Teaching Old Logs New Tricks
Clearing the Path V2
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- Creator: Giangreco, Michael F., 1956-.
- Date Created: 2000
- Description: The cartoon shows a school with children waiting at the bottom of the stairs for a school custodian to shovel the snow so that they can get into the building. A student in a wheelchair asks the custodian, "Could you please shovel the ramp?" he replies, "All these other kids are waiting to use the stairs. When I get through shoveling them off then I will clear the ramp for you." The student in the wheelchair replies back, "But if you shovel the ramp we can all get in!" The tag line reads, "Clearing a path for everyone!"
- Parent Collections: Absurdities and Realities of Special Education, Teaching Old Logs New Tricks
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