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 - 10 of 28 Records

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

28 still image

15 1998 9 1999 4 2000
Miniature of Finding Filling Files Fulfilling
Finding Filling Files Fulfilling
Image nop
    • Creator: Giangreco, Michael F., 1956-.
    • Date Created: 1998
    • Description: This cartoon shows a special educator holding several file folders as he stands in front of a four-drawer file cabinet and says, "Thank goodness we're finally done with the IEP. Now we can file it and do what we really want." The tag line under the cartoon reads, "Fred finds filling file cabinets a strangely fulfilling part of his job."
    • Parent Collections: Absurdities and Realities of Special Education, Ants in His Pants
    Miniature of Tenacious Advocate
    Tenacious Advocate
    Image nop
      • Creator: Giangreco, Michael F., 1956-.
      • Date Created: 1999
      • Description: A parent, (Mrs. Green) is seated a cross a table from her child's IEP team. Her arm is reaching behind her, aimed toward a life-sized cardboard replica of an advocate, who is holding up a document labeled IDEA. The tag line under the cartoon reads, "Mrs. Green resorts to bringing a life-sized cardboard replica of the county's most tenacious advocate to her child's IEP meeting. "Inspired by Marilyn Wessels"
      • Parent Collections: Absurdities and Realities of Special Education, Flying by the Seat of Your Pants
      Miniature of Mail Order Diplomas
      Mail Order Diplomas
      Image nop
        • Creator: Giangreco, Michael F., 1956-.
        • Date Created: 1999
        • Description: The cartoon shows an open book of matches. On the inside cover of the matchbook is written. "HOCUS - POCUS U. (M M IT'S LIKE MAGIC! M M) If you have a stamp and a credit card, we're your school! Earn your diploma by mail without ever leaving home! Now offering: PH.D. Master's, Bachelor's, GED," and written in a yellow star, "New IEP Diploma!!! Earn Credit for your life experience." Tag line reads, "Mail order Universities add the increasingly popular IEP diploma to their offerings."
        • Parent Collections: Absurdities and Realities of Special Education, Flying by the Seat of Your Pants
        Miniature of Outnumbered?
        Outnumbered?
        Image nop
          • Creator: Giangreco, Michael F., 1956-.
          • Date Created: 1998
          • Description: This cartoon shows a long table with a parent and his advocate seated at the near side (backs to the viewer). Across the table are ten professionals, each identified by a hat indicating their profession (e.g., OT, PT, SLP, Principal). One of the professionals says, "I'm not sure why Mr. Barth always feels compelled to bring an advocate to the IEP meeting." The tag line under the cartoon reads, "Outnumbered?"
          • Parent Collections: Absurdities and Realities of Special Education, Ants in His Pants
          Miniature of Cat and Mouse
          Cat and Mouse
          Image nop
            • Creator: Giangreco, Michael F., 1956-.
            • Date Created: 1998
            • Description: This cartoon shows a school administrator wearing a cat mask sitting across the table from a mother of a child with a disability who is wearing Mickey Mouse ears. The tag line under the cartoon reads, "After years of playing cat and mouse to develop an IEP, Casey's mother longs for a chance to be the cat for once!"
            • Parent Collections: Absurdities and Realities of Special Education, Ants in His Pants
            Miniature of IEP that "Loooook Maaaaarvelous"
            IEP that "Loooook Maaaaarvelous"
            Image nop
              • Creator: Giangreco, Michael F., 1956-.
              • Date Created: 1998
              • Description: This cartoon shows a special educator who says, "Mrs. Small said you wanted to see me." as she is seated across the desk from an administrator. In a imitation of Billy Crystal's Fernando Lamas parody the administrator says, "I've been reviewing your IEPs. They look maaaarvelous. And as you know, it's better that they look good than be good." The tag line under the cartoon reads, "Special Education Coordinator, Mr. Crossway, has watched too many old re-runs of Saturday Night Live."
              • Parent Collections: Absurdities and Realities of Special Education, Ants in His Pants
              Miniature of Piece of Cake
              Piece of Cake
              Image nop
                • Creator: Giangreco, Michael F., 1956-.
                • Date Created: 2000
                • Description: The cartoon shows two teachers standing to the right side of the panel with their backs to a gigantic piece of layer cake, the size of a three-story building. On the top icing of the cake is written, "Other Duties." The top layer of cake it labeled, "IEP," the icing between the layers is labeled "Meetings," the middle layer is labeled "504," another layer of icing labeled "Meetings," and the bottom layer labeled "At Risk." One of the teachers is saying to the other, "Don't worry about your caseload this year. It's a piece of cake!" To which the other teacher responds "Thanks!" The tag line reads, "How much cake can one person eat?"
                • Parent Collections: Absurdities and Realities of Special Education, Teaching Old Logs New Tricks
                Miniature of Is Bigger Better?
                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
                  Miniature of Oh, Que?
                  Oh, Que?
                  Image nop
                    • Creator: Giangreco, Michael F., 1956-.
                    • Date Created: 1998
                    • Description: This cartoon has four panels arranged in a square, each showing the same image: a special educator sitting across from a parent with papers on the table between them. In the upper left panel the teacher says, "Mrs. Ramirez, as you know, we are here to plan an IEP for Jose. Now I know we should have checked with you first, but we went ahead and drafted his goals and objectives." In the upper right panel the special educator asks, "Is that OK with you?" The parent, who speaks Spanish as her primary language and has a confused look on her face asks, "Oh, que?" In the lower left panel the special educator say, "Great, I'm glad it's OK with you. Actually, I know shouldn't have, but we went head and made some related service decisions too. Is that OK? The confused parent again replies, "Oh, que?" In the lower right panel the special educator says, "Wonderful Mrs. Ramirez. Don't you wish every IEP meeting was this easy?" Again the confused parent again replies, "Oh, que?" The tag line under the cartoon reads, "Miss Plepper was absent for the Inservice on cultural and linguistic diversity.
                    • Parent Collections: Absurdities and Realities of Special Education, Ants in His Pants
                    Miniature of Who can help?
                    Who can help?
                    Image nop
                      • 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