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 81 - 90 of 342 Records
Counter Intelligence
-
Image nop
- Creator: Giangreco, Michael F., 1956-.
- Date Created: 2000
- Description: The cartoon shows a diner counter with a waitress behind the counter serving a man some coffee. The man sitting at the counter says, "Is the rumor true that the new guy who works here has a low IQ?" The waitress replies, "I don't know and it doesn't really matter. IQ doesn't tell you anything about who a person is. I know him. He's a good worker and a great guy." The tag line reads, "Counter Intelligence."
- Parent Collections: Absurdities and Realities of Special Education, Teaching Old Logs New Tricks
Lone Ranger
-
Image nop
- Creator: Giangreco, Michael F., 1956-.
- Date Created: 2000
- Description: The cartoon shows a man dressed as a cowboy with a sheriff star on his shirt riding a hobby horse. He is saying, "Hi oh Silver, Away!" The tag line reads, "The Lone Ranger of Teamwork: A team of one gets a little done." A tag line on the left reads, "Inspired by Linda Backus."
- Parent Collections: Absurdities and Realities of Special Education, Teaching Old Logs New Tricks
Lady Justice
-
Image nop
- 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
-
Image nop
- 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
-
Image nop
- 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
Supplies
-
Image nop
- Creator: Giangreco, Michael F., 1956-.
- Date Created: 1998
- Description: This cartoon has two panels stacked vertically. In the top panel a smiling teacher greets a student who is wearing a backpack and says, "Hi Jimmy, welcome to the first day of school. I'm glad you brought your backpack with your supplies." In the second panel the same teacher now with a worried expression on her face greets a student with a disability and her mother who is pulling a long wagon filled high with all kinds of special equipment. The teacher says, "Hi Janie, Welcome to the first day of school. I see you've brought your supplies." Her mother says, "We'll bring the rest tomorrow." The tag line for the cartoon reads, "Mrs. Fine wonders if it is too late to request a larger classroom."
- Parent Collections: Absurdities and Realities of Special Education, Ants in His Pants
Is Bigger Better?
-
Image nop
- Creator: Giangreco, Michael F., 1956-.
- Date Created: 1998
- Description: This cartoon shows two colleagues talking to each other. One says, "Do you really expect to implement that 50 page IEP?" The other person, who is hold a thick document and who looks excited says in response, "No, but doesn't it look great!" The tag line under the cartoon reads, "Is Bigger Better?"
- Parent Collections: Absurdities and Realities of Special Education, Ants in His Pants
Cement Shoe Therapy
-
Image nop
- Creator: Giangreco, Michael F., 1956-.
- Date Created: 1998
- Description: This cartoon shows a person's bare legs from just above the a pair of knobby knees to the feet. The person's shoes are cinder blocks. The tag line under the cartoon reads, "A former gangster turned therapist relies on an old skill in developing his experimental cement shoe therapy."
- Parent Collections: Absurdities and Realities of Special Education, Ants in His Pants
Mysteries of Friendship
-
Image nop
- Creator: Giangreco, Michael F., 1956-.
- Date Created: 1998
- Description: This cartoon shows two teachers talking to each other in the foreground. In the background are two students painting at an easel -- one is seated in a wheelchair and the other does not have a disability. One teacher says, "I don't get it. What does Keith see in Joey? He can't walk or talk, he needs help with everything, yet they're inseparable." The other teacher says, "Maybe part of being friends is liking a person for who they are -- not just what they can do." The tag line under the cartoon reads, "Mysteries of Friendship."
- Parent Collections: Absurdities and Realities of Special Education, Ants in His Pants
I thought Pat was a boy
-
Image nop
- Creator: Giangreco, Michael F., 1956-.
- Date Created: 1998
- Description: This cartoon has two panels stacked vertically. In the top panel a physical education teachers says to the class, "Boys, 50 crunches! Girls, 5 laps!! Let's go!" The second panel shows the girls running are led by a female paraprofessional pushing a student in his wheelchair. One of the girls says, "I thought Pat was a boy!?" and another girls says, "He is!!" The tag line under the cartoon reads, "The instructional assistant assigned to Pat experiences ongoing gender confusion."
- Parent Collections: Absurdities and Realities of Special Education, Ants in His Pants