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.

List

Gallery

Information

Showing 1 - 7 of 7 Records

Relevance Title (A-Z) Title (Z-A) Year (0-9) Year (9-0)
10 25 50 100
Active filters
Subject Topic Merge: Assessment.   Remove all  

7 still image

4 1999 3 2000
Miniature of High Standards
High Standards
Image nop
    • Creator: Giangreco, Michael F., 1956-.
    • Date Created: 1999
    • Description: The cartoon shows Mr. Moody (administrator) standing on a chair reaching up to the top shelf of a book shelf. The labels on the shelves say Reports, Journals, and the top shelf he is reaching toward says Standards. It looks like he may fall. The tag lines reads "Mr. Moody complies with his district's promise to maintain high standards."
    • Parent Collections: Absurdities and Realities of Special Education, Flying by the Seat of Your Pants
    Miniature of School Calendar
    School Calendar
    Image nop
      • Creator: Giangreco, Michael F., 1956-.
      • Date Created: 1999
      • Description: The cartoon shows two people, a man and woman, looking at the school calendar. The man is pointing at the calendar and says to the woman "Have you seen the proposed school calendar? We have 10 days for teaching and 185 days for testing." The woman replies "Well, at least it's fewer lessons to plan." The tag line reads "Based on current political trends, within two decades 95% of the school year will be devoted to testing."
      • Parent Collections: Absurdities and Realities of Special Education, Flying by the Seat of Your Pants
      Miniature of Falling Through the Cracks
      Falling Through the Cracks
      Image nop
        • Creator: Giangreco, Michael F., 1956-.
        • Date Created: 2000
        • Description: The cartoon shows a bridge in the sky. There are boards missing across the bridge and the ones that are there have "Standards" written on them. There are children trying to cross the bridge. Some are easily able to get across, some are struggling to hang on, and some are falling through the cracks between the boards. The tag line reads, "How many students are falling through the cracks?"
        • Parent Collections: Absurdities and Realities of Special Education, Teaching Old Logs New Tricks
        Miniature of Shooting In The Dark
        Shooting In The Dark
        Image nop
          • Creator: Giangreco, Michael F., 1956-.
          • Date Created: 2000
          • Description: The cartoon shows a dart board in the upper right part of the panel there are 5 darts with suction cup tips heading toward the dart board. Each one has the word "Intervention" written on it with the numbers 1, 2 , 3, 4, or 5. The tag like reads, "Shooting in the dark: What happens when you select interventions without good assessment data."
          • Parent Collections: Absurdities and Realities of Special Education, Teaching Old Logs New Tricks
          Miniature of Meet the Standards
          Meet the Standards
          Image nop
            • Creator: Giangreco, Michael F., 1956-.
            • Date Created: 1999
            • Description: The cartoon shows Mr. Moody (administrator) standing with a line of students behind him and a couple with a baby, Mr. and Mrs. Standard, in front of them. Mr. Moody says "Suzy, I'd like you to meet Mr. Standard, his wife, Mrs. Standard and their little baby Standard- They're new in town." The tag line reads "Confused by a state education directive, Mr. Moody arranges for every student in his school to meet the Standards."
            • Parent Collections: Absurdities and Realities of Special Education, Flying by the Seat of Your Pants
            Miniature of Authentic Assessment
            Authentic Assessment
            Image nop
              • Creator: Giangreco, Michael F., 1956-.
              • Date Created: 1999
              • Description: The cartoon shows a wall with signs across the top and sides. There is a salesman pointing to the signs behind a counter and a woman in the foreground. The sign across the top of the panel reads "Test Publishers Inc." On the left side of the panel a sign reads "Our Moto: 'We'll sell you what-ever you're willing to buy regardless of quality or utility'." Other signs read "Authentic Assessments," "Counterfeit Assessments," "Culturally Biased Assessments," "Hypothetical Assessments," "Make-Believe Assessments," and "Verified, But Useless Assessments." The woman asks the salesman "What kind of assessment tools do you carry?" The salesman says, "We carry a full range!" The tag line reads, "Authentic Assessments: Consider the Alternatives."
              • Parent Collections: Absurdities and Realities of Special Education, Flying by the Seat of Your Pants
              Miniature of Raising the Bar
              Raising the Bar
              Image nop
                • Creator: Giangreco, Michael F., 1956-.
                • Date Created: 2000
                • Description: The cartoon shows a winding path with the word "curriculum" written on it leading to a pole vault bar, with judge standing on either side. Above the bar it says, "standards" and below the bar it says, "assessments." There is a pole vaulter attempting to clear the bar, but he has missed and hit one of the uprights on the side and loudly exclaims, "OUCH!" The tag line reads, "Raising the bar has a chance only when curriculum, assessment and instruction are aligned."
                • Parent Collections: Absurdities and Realities of Special Education, Teaching Old Logs New Tricks