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 41 - 50 of 228 Records
Longevity
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- Creator: Giangreco, Michael F., 1956-.
- Date Created: 1999
- Description: The cartoon shows two men one handing the other a "Special Longevity Award." The man on the right of the panel is saying "Thank you for your dedicated service. Please, Pleeeease don't leave." The man receiving the award says "I don't understand. I just started working 3 months ago!" The tag line reads "Reducing Turnover: Education officials implement part of their early intervention program." The note on the left says, "Inspired by Dennis Kane."
- Parent Collections: Absurdities and Realities of Special Education, Flying by the Seat of Your Pants
PEACE
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- Creator: Giangreco, Michael F., 1956-.
- Date Created: 1999
- Description: The cartoon shows two people dressed in shirts that have half a peace signs on them. They are standing with an arm around each others shoulders so that the peace sign is whole. They have flowers in their hair and are showing the peace sign with their free hands. The tag line reads "Purposeful, Educational Accommodations, Creating, Excellence" the first letter of each word spell out PEACE. The note on the left says, "Inspired by Melanie Giangreco & Amanda Dana"
- Parent Collections: Absurdities and Realities of Special Education, Flying by the Seat of Your Pants
Stop the Testing
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- Creator: Giangreco, Michael F., 1956-.
- Date Created: 1999
- Description: The cartoon shows two people in bed. The man is having a bad dream and the woman is trying to wake him. He says "Put down your #2 pencils. Stop the testing! Stop it now!" The woman says "Honey! Wake up! You're just having a bad dream." He replies, "...but I'm not finished!" The tag line reads "Night Terrors: Standardized testing still haunts Harry after all these years."
- Parent Collections: Absurdities and Realities of Special Education, Flying by the Seat of Your Pants
Grapevine
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- Creator: Giangreco, Michael F., 1956-.
- Date Created: 1999
- Description: The cartoon shows three panels. The top panel shows a grapevine with grapes, the grapes are saying "The new student is artistic?" The next panel shows the continuation of the grapevine with another bunch of grapes and this bunch is saying "Yes, quite artistic!" The third panel shows the end of the grapevine with another bunch of grapes saying "I heard that the new student is quiet and autistic!" The tag line reads "Communication Breakdown #15: Hearing anything through the grapevine continues to be a very unreliable way to get accurate information."
- Parent Collections: Absurdities and Realities of Special Education, Flying by the Seat of Your Pants
Lead Balloons
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- Creator: Giangreco, Michael F., 1956-.
- Date Created: 1999
- Description: The cartoon shows a woman standing with her hands on her hips looking worried. There are a lot of balloons floating up into the air and four just sitting there in front of her. The one on the far left is blue and says "More Paperwork," the next one is green and says "Too Many Adults," the next one is red and says "More Meetings," the next one is pink and says "Bigger Caseloads." The tag line reads "The Lead Balloons of Special Education."
- Parent Collections: Absurdities and Realities of Special Education, Flying by the Seat of Your Pants
Lady Justice
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- Creator: Giangreco, Michael F., 1956-.
- Date Created: 2007
- Description: This cartoon shows a car driver's view of their external side mirror. Inside the car you only see the hand and arm of a white man wearing a suit and dress shirt on the steering wheel. In the mirror you see brown-skinned Lady Justice, blindfolded, in a purple wheelchair coming fast. The tag line under the cartoon reads, "Objects in mirror are closer than they appear."
- Parent Collections: Absurdities and Realities of Special Education, CD Only
Parapro Gold
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- Creator: Giangreco, Michael F., 1956-.
- Date Created: 2007
- Description: This cartoon shows a scale where a paraprofessional is sitting on one side and on the counterbalanced side a conveyor belt is dropping 14K gold nuggets in an effort to balance the scales. The tag line under the cartoon reads, "Great paraprofessionals, used wisely, are worth their weight in gold."
- Parent Collections: Absurdities and Realities of Special Education, CD Only
On the Brink
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- Creator: Giangreco, Michael F., 1956-.
- Date Created: 2010-2013
- Description: This cartoon shows a small house teetering on the edge of a cliff, nearly falling off on to the rocks and shark-infested waters below. There is a rope tied around the house and a long line of paraprofessionals pulling hard to stop it from falling. A man with a megaphone calls out, "Get more paraprofessionals! Keep 'em coming!" while a person on the rope line says, "Wouldn't it be better to build on a more solid footing?" The tag line under the cartoon reads: "On the Brink: Is your service delivery model built too close to the edge?"
- Parent Collections: Absurdities and Realities of Special Education, Post CD
Part of: 5. Post CD
Which Path?
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- Description: This cartoon has two panels stacked vertically. The upper and lower panels are overlapped on the far left by the image of an infant in a cradle. The upper panel , labeled BIGGER LIFE, shows a bright, vibrantly colored scene of a path go up a hillside. Along this upward path are images of buildings that are labeled inclusive schooling, real (supported) work, and home in community. At the top of the hill it shows two people together labeled relationships and choices. The lower panel, labeled SMALLER LIFE, shows a dark and muted scene with few signs of life on a jagged descending pathways going down a hillside. Along the downward path are images of buildings that are labeled segregated schooling, sheltered employment or no work, and groiup home. At the bottom of the hill it showas a peron falling into an abyss labeled increasing isolation and limited choices. The tag line underneath the cartoon reads: Which Path Should We Pursue? To the left side of the cartoon there is an acknowledgement line that reads" Inspired by the Australian Alliance for Inclusive Education www.allmeansall.org.au.
- Parent Collections: Absurdities and Realities of Special Education, Post CD
Part of: 5. Post CD
Teaching Spectrum Disorder
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- Creator: Giangreco, Michael F., 1956-.
- Date Created: 2000
- Description: The cartoon shows two parents sitting holding hands across a table from two educators, a man and a woman. The father is saying, "What have you learned from your evaluation? Why is Sam having such difficulty learning?" To which the woman educator says, "The good news is that Sam doesn't have learning disabilities! The bad news is his teacher has "Pervasive Developmental Teaching Delays." The tag line reads, "Sam's teacher is diagnosed with a 'Teaching Spectrum Disorder'."
- Parent Collections: Absurdities and Realities of Special Education, Teaching Old Logs New Tricks