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.

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16 Inclusive education. 14 Special education. 8 Teaching. 7 Students. 5 Parents. 4 Attitudes. 4 Exclusion. 4 Paraprofessional. 3 Administrators. 3 IEP. 2 Administrator. 2 Bending. 2 Class. 2 Classroom. 2 Disabilities. 2 Educational practices. 2 Emergency. 2 Learning. 2 Mirror. 2 Peers. 2 Schools. 2 Separation. 2 Shortage. 2 Supports. 2 Teamwork. 2 Test. 1 Access. 1 Accommodations. 1 Achievement. 1 Actor. 1 Adjustment. 1 Advertisement. 1 Advocate. 1 Advocates. 1 Affliction. 1 Announcement. 1 Backpack. 1 Backwards. 1 Baggage. 1 Banned. 1 Barbells. 1 Behavior. 1 Bolder. 1 Breaking. 1 Cap. 1 Career development. 1 Certification. 1 Christmas. 1 Classics. 1 Classrooms. 1 Cloning. 1 Closet. 1 Collaboration. 1 Confidence. 1 Consultant. 1 Consumers. 1 Controversies. 1 Corporal punishment. 1 Crazy. 1 Cues. 1 Dancing. 1 Diagnosis. 1 Disco. 1 Disorder. 1 Doctor. 1 Door. 1 Dress Code. 1 Eagle. 1 Easel. 1 Education. 1 Eggs. 1 Elephant. 1 Elude. 1 English. 1 Equipment. 1 Escape. 1 Evaluation. 1 Files. 1 Fire. 1 Flexibility. 1 Following. 1 Foot. 1 Fox. 1 Friendship. 1 Goose. 1 Hamster. 1 Hat. 1 Hiding. 1 Hiring. 1 Hot coals. 1 IDEA. 1 Individualizing. 1 Industry. 1 Instruction. 1 Interactions. 1 Intimidated. 1 Judge. 1 Jungle. 1 Labeling. 1 Lawyers. 1 Learning disabilities. 1 Lie detector. 1 Lies. 1 Literacy. 1 Literature. 1 Litigation. 1 Logo. 1 Machine. 1 Marriage. 1 Merging. 1 Misconceptions. 1 Mishap. 1 NASA. 1 Number line. 1 Numbers. 1 Orientation. 1 PTO. 1 Phone. 1 Placement. 1 Plus. 1 Positive behavior supports. 1 Positive. 1 Poultry. 1 Principal. 1 Principals. 1 Pumped. 1 Puns. 1 Questions. 1 Rating. 1 Ratios. 1 Recording. 1 Recruitment. 1 Recycling. 1 Reflection. 1 Related services. 1 Relativity. 1 Reminder. 1 Roaches. 1 Rock. 1 Rocket Science. 1 Rules. 1 Safari. 1 Santa. 1 Scared. 1 Secret. 1 Service delivery. 1 Slide. 1 Special educators. 1 Spectrum. 1 Spot. 1 Spotlight. 1 Standards. 1 Stethoscope. 1 Stories. 1 Superwoman. 1 Supplies. 1 Support services. 1 Swing. 1 Tarzan. 1 Teacher engagement. 1 Teacher preparation. 1 Terrorless. 1 Test tube. 1 Testing. 1 Time. 1 Transformation. 1 Trial. 1 Turkeys. 1 Unified System. 1 Uniqueness. 1 Universal design. 1 University. 1 Wagon. 1 Waiver. 1 Wardrobe. 1 Weightlifting. 1 Wish.

54 still image
Miniature of Amazing
Amazing
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    • Creator: Giangreco, Michael F., 1956-.
    • Date Created: 1998
    • Description: This cartoon shows a box-shaped machine with gears and levers and a conveyor belt with people going through it. As the people enter they are slumped over wearing dark robes with a dark cloud over each of their heads. The sign above these people entering reads, "Nervous, Worried, Angry, Anxious, Unprepared, Negative, Apprehensive." As the people pass through the machine and emerge from the Output end they are depicted wearing white robes, with angel's wings, smiles on their faces, and sunshine over each of the heads. The sign above these people reads, "Positive, Good, Successful, Amazed, Pleased, Wonderful, Interesting." The tag line under the cartoon reads, "The Amazing Inclusive Education Teacher Transformation Machine."
    • Parent Collections: Absurdities and Realities of Special Education, Ants in His Pants
    Miniature of I don't feel prepared
    I don't feel prepared
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      • Creator: Giangreco, Michael F., 1956-.
      • Date Created: 1998
      • Description: This cartoon shows a school principal seated at his desk with a teacher sitting across from him in the foreground. The teacher says, "‚Ķ so I don't feel prepared to teach a child with disabilities." The tag line under the cartoon reads, "Despite having a master's degree and 18 years of experience, Mrs. Snippett tries to convince Mr. Moody that the student with disabilities in her class would be better served by an assistant with no experience."
      • Parent Collections: Absurdities and Realities of Special Education, Ants in His Pants
      Miniature of Unintended Distractions
      Unintended Distractions
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        • Creator: Giangreco, Michael F., 1956-.
        • Date Created: 1998
        • Description: This cartoons shows a full class being taught in a large group by the teacher, except for one student with a disability who is working in a one-to-one format with a paraprofessional in the back of the large group, facing away from the teacher. Some students in the teacher's large group who are closest to the paraprofessional and student with a disability turn toward them. The tag line under the cartoon reads, "Unintended Distractions."
        • Parent Collections: Absurdities and Realities of Special Education, Ants in His Pants
        Miniature of Educating Roaches
        Educating Roaches
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          • Creator: Giangreco, Michael F., 1956-.
          • Date Created: 1999
          • Description: The cartoon is two panels in the top frame of the panel are a man and a woman. The man is a reporter and is interviewing the woman who is holding up a "Not Roaches" sign. He says "And now a commentary from Bertha Snippett." And Bertha says "Who are these 'Inclusive Education' people and why do they want to educate supportive roaches? I don't care how supportive the are! Roaches are nasty little bugs and furthermore..." In the lower frame the reporter interrupts and says "Excuse me, it's not "educating supportive roaches." It's "Educationally Supportive Approaches." Mrs. Snippett says, turning red in the face "Oh...never mind." The tag line reads "Inclusion mishap #13: Mrs. Snippett decides it's finally time to have her hearing tested."
          • Parent Collections: Absurdities and Realities of Special Education, Flying by the Seat of Your Pants
          Miniature of Pumped Up
          Pumped Up
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            • Creator: Giangreco, Michael F., 1956-.
            • Date Created: 1999
            • Description: The cartoon shows a woman lifting weights on a barbell. The tag line reads "Mrs. Hart gets pumped up about teaching a full range of students, because even though it's hard work, the results really show."
            • Parent Collections: Absurdities and Realities of Special Education, Flying by the Seat of Your Pants
            Miniature of Dress Code
            Dress Code
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              • Creator: Giangreco, Michael F., 1956-.
              • Date Created: 2000
              • Description: The cartoon shows Mr. Moody dressed in a white suit from the 70's (he is in a classic pose like John Travolta in the Saturday Night Fever). He is dancing and a disco ball spinning colors reflecting around the room. The tag line reads, "Dress Code: Mr. Moody enacts a new policy: 'All faculty shall wear clothing consistent with the era that matches their educational practices.'"
              • Parent Collections: Absurdities and Realities of Special Education, Teaching Old Logs New Tricks
              Miniature of Lesson League
              Lesson League
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                • Creator: Giangreco, Michael F., 1956-.
                • Date Created: 2000
                • Description: The cartoon shows a classroom with a teacher standing at the chalkboard in front of a class of kids. One of the kids in the front row is holding up a tape recorder and asks, "Mrs. Johnson, is it OK if I tape today's lesson?" Mrs. Johnson replies, "This lesson is intended for the private use of my class. Any rebroadcast or other use of this lesson without the express written consent of the national teacher lesson league is strictly prohibited." The tag line reads, "Simple accommodations in the age of litigation."
                • Parent Collections: Absurdities and Realities of Special Education, Teaching Old Logs New Tricks
                Miniature of Flexibility
                Flexibility
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                  • Creator: Giangreco, Michael F., 1956-.
                  • Date Created: 1998
                  • Description: This cartoon has two panels offset stepwise. In the top left panel a teacher (shown alone) asks a colleague, "How do you teach kids with such a wide range of needs?" In the lower right panel the same teacher is shown looking at her colleague sitting on a chair with her leg stretched behind her head while she says, "Flexibility." The tag line under the cartoon reads, Mrs. Jones explains her secret to never getting bent out of shape."
                  • Parent Collections: Absurdities and Realities of Special Education, Ants in His Pants
                  Miniature of Recycling
                  Recycling
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                    • 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
                    Miniature of Career Development
                    Career Development
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                      • 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