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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Showing 1 - 4 of 4 Records

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3 1998 1 2007
Miniature of Geography Lesson
Geography Lesson
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    • Creator: Giangreco, Michael F., 1956-.
    • Date Created: 1998
    • Description: This cartoon shows two educators seated side by side looking at a computer monitor together that is displaying a map of the USA. One person says, "But I thought each school district was required to make individual decisions for students with disabilities -- considering regular class placement in the neighborhood school as the first option." The second person replies, "Well, on paper -- but really it depends on where you live. Next we'll look at city and county maps." The tag line under the cartoon reads, "Harold gets to use new mapping software to give Ellen a geography lesson in inclusive education."
    • Parent Collections: Absurdities and Realities of Special Education, Ants in His Pants
    Miniature of Individualized Education
    Individualized Education
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      • Creator: Giangreco, Michael F., 1956-.
      • Date Created: 1998
      • Description: This cartoon shows two special education colleagues in front of a computer monitor. As one person points to the screen she says, "Mrs. Worthy, I hope you like our new computerized individual education plans. They allow us to have all our students' goals be the same." The tag line under the cartoon reads, "Individualized Education: Mrs. Smithfield fails to notice the contradiction."
      • Parent Collections: Absurdities and Realities of Special Education, Ants in His Pants
      Miniature of Cut and Dried
      Cut and Dried
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        • Creator: Giangreco, Michael F., 1956-.
        • Date Created: 1998
        • Description: This cartoon shows a special educator outside on a rural property hanging up laundry on a clothes line. He is using clothes pins to hang up three long strips; each one has one letter on it, I-E-P. The tag line under the cartoon reads, " The most recent computerized IEPs are too cut and dried."
        • Parent Collections: Absurdities and Realities of Special Education, Ants in His Pants
        Miniature of Spotlight
        Spotlight
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          • Creator: Giangreco, Michael F., 1956-.
          • Date Created: 2007
          • Description: This cartoon shows a woman in a wheelchair working at a computer in an office with others. The scene is in low light and there is a spotlight over her work station illuminating it. Above her is says, "Shining a light on...." and just under her is word disability (with the dis in lower case the ability in capital letters). The way the spotlight is positioned it is only shining on ability. When read with the spotlight effect, the message is "Shining a light on ability." The tag line under the cartoon reads, "Employment for All." A note of the line side of the cartoon reads, "Inspired by the Vermont APSE: The Network on Employment."
          • Parent Collections: Absurdities and Realities of Special Education, CD Only