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 61 - 70 of 111 Records
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
Who can help?
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- Creator: Giangreco, Michael F., 1956-.
- Date Created: 1998
- Description: This cartoon shows six educational team members seated at round table for meeting. The facilitator says, "OK, Amy's next goal has do with Making Requests. Who can help with that? All the members raise their hands. The tag line under the cartoon reads, "Harvey continues to ask the wrong question in a room full of helpers."
- Parent Collections: Absurdities and Realities of Special Education, Ants in His Pants
A, B, C's of Inclusion
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- Creator: Giangreco, Michael F., 1956-.
- Date Created: 1998
- Description: This cartoon shows a chalkboard with three words stacked in a stepwise fashion and the first letter of each word much larger than the remaining letters; the words are Acceptance, Belonging, and Community. The tag line under the cartoon reads, "The ABC's of Inclusion". The note on the side indicates, "Inspired by Mary Beth Doyle".
- Parent Collections: Absurdities and Realities of Special Education, Ants in His Pants
School Lunch Atrocities
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- Creator: Giangreco, Michael F., 1956-.
- Date Created: 1998
- Description: This cartoon shows a paraprofessional preparing lunch for a student with disabilities by dumping the entire school lunch into a blender, while saying, "Let's see, a cheeseburger, green beans, applesauce, and chocolate milk. Won't this be yummy? Into the blender it goes." In the foreground a student in a wheelchair looks very worried and classmate is bent over gagging while saying, "That's Gu-ross! You're not going to make him eat that?" The tag line below the cartoon reads, "School Lunch Atrocities."
- Parent Collections: Absurdities and Realities of Special Education, Ants in His Pants
Flair for the Dramatic
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- Creator: Giangreco, Michael F., 1956-.
- Date Created: 1998
- Description: This cartoon shows a mother and child trying to enter a school with a sign on the exterior, "Exclusionville Elementary." The Principal (Mr. Moody) is physically blocking the entrance to the school while saying, "I'm sorry, but you can't bring THAT child in THIS school." The tag line under the cartoon reads, "Mr. Moody displays his flair for the dramatic."
- Parent Collections: Absurdities and Realities of Special Education, Ants in His Pants
Unaccustomed to Good News
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- Creator: Giangreco, Michael F., 1956-.
- Date Created: 1998
- Description: This cartoon has two panels stacked vertically. The top panel shows two people talking on the phone to each other, a principal at school and a mother at home. The principal says, "Mrs. Blue, Byron broke and old record at school today." The mother replies, "I'm very sorry. We'll pay for it. I know the school doesn't have enough money for CDs." In the second frame, the principal says, "You don't understand. He broke a school record for the greatest flexibility in our P.E. program." The tag line under the cartoon reads, "Mrs. Blue is woefully unaccustomed to good news."
- Parent Collections: Absurdities and Realities of Special Education, Ants in His Pants
Asleep/Awake
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- Creator: Giangreco, Michael F., 1956-.
- Date Created: 1998
- Description: This cartoon has two panels. The top panel shows a students a student sitting in a wheelchair sleeping (with Zzzzzzz coming from her nose) -- the setting is labeled "Special Class." The lower panel, which is labeled "Regular Class" shows the same student, awake and alert interacting with two classmates. The tag line under the cartoon reads, "After ruling out a medical reason, Bobby Sue's parents come to the conclusion that there's just a lot more to be awake for in regular class."
- Parent Collections: Absurdities and Realities of Special Education, Ants in His Pants
Name that Discipline
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- Creator: Giangreco, Michael F., 1956-.
- Date Created: 1998
- Description: This cartoon shows three parents next to each other standing behind podiums labeled, Parent 1, 2 and 3; behind them is the name of the game show they are playing, "Name that Discipline." Parent number 1 says, "I can name that discipline in one goal!" The show's host says, "OK, Here's you next clue: Sally will increase bilateral lip posturing, lip movement and lateralization." The tag line below the cartoon reads, "Having suffered through excessive exposure to professionals, parents look for fun ways of coping."
- Parent Collections: Absurdities and Realities of Special Education, Ants in His Pants
Line in the Sand
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- Creator: Giangreco, Michael F., 1956-.
- Date Created: 1998
- Description: This cartoon has two panels offset stepwise. In the upper panel five children are the beach. Three children have used a stick to draw a line in the sand where they are on one side and on the other side are two other children looking sad, one of whom is seated in a wheelchair. In the lower panel all five students are inside a circle that has been drawn in the sand. The tag line reads, "Marc give new meaning to drawing a line in the sand."
- Parent Collections: Absurdities and Realities of Special Education, Ants in His Pants
Misdemeanor Middle School
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- Creator: Giangreco, Michael F., 1956-.
- Date Created: 1998
- Description: This cartoon shows a student in a wheelchair sitting outside a school. The school building is on tall stilts, is surrounded by barbed wire, and has only one entrance at the top of a long steep stairway. The building has a ground level sign that says, "IDEA, L.R.E., and F.A.P.E" and high above a sign over the entrance door reads, "Welcome. Misdemeanor Middle School." The student looking up at the inaccessible entrance has a thought bubble filled with random characters indicating he's saying a series of expletives to himself. The tag line under the cartoon reads, "Administration at Misdemeanor Middle School continue to consider themselves above the law."
- Parent Collections: Absurdities and Realities of Special Education, Ants in His Pants