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 2000
Miniature of The Top Right Corner
The Top Right Corner
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    • Creator: Giangreco, Michael F., 1956-.
    • Date Created: 1998
    • Description: This cartoon shows a student pointing to a cup in the top right corner of a two-row, six item, display which shows (from left to right) a book, ball and cup on the top row and a pencil chair, and spoon on the bottom row. The tag line under the cartoon reads, "After weeks of instruction, Susie learns that Cup means anything in the top right corner."
    • Parent Collections: Absurdities and Realities of Special Education, Ants in His Pants
    Miniature of Speaking Loudly
    Speaking Loudly
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      • Creator: Giangreco, Michael F., 1956-.
      • Date Created: 1998
      • Description: This cartoon shows a professional educator at a table with three children. She yells, "THAT'S VERY GOOD, ALAN, NOW IT'S JILL'S TURN" so loudly that the force of her voice makes the students' hair blow back as if in a wind storm. The tag line below the cartoon reads, "Ellen thinks speaking loudly is a form of specialized instruction."
      • Parent Collections: Absurdities and Realities of Special Education, Ants in His Pants
      Miniature of Roots of Special Education
      Roots of Special Education
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        • Creator: Giangreco, Michael F., 1956-.
        • Date Created: 2000
        • Description: The cartoon shows Rita tending to her garden of root vegetables. The image depicts a cross-section so you can see the roots growing under ground. Each different type of vegetable has a different label: (a) "Access," (b) "Individualization," (c) "Quality Instruction," and (d) "Meaningful Outcomes." The tag line reads, "Rita returns to dig up the roots of special education."
        • Parent Collections: Absurdities and Realities of Special Education, Teaching Old Logs New Tricks
        Miniature of BeFORE and After
        BeFORE and After
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          • Creator: Giangreco, Michael F., 1956-.
          • Date Created: 1998
          • Description: This cartoon has two panels stacked vertically. The top panel shows a teacher sitting in a chair holding a 1-10 number line and point the number 7. He says, "Children, we're going to practice numbers that come BEFORE and AFTER other numbers. OK. What number is this?" A student replies "7." In the lower frame with the same image the teacher says, "Good. What number comes beFORE this number?" The student says, "B3?" The tag line under the cartoon reads, "Mr. Green's students experience Cue Confusion."
          • Parent Collections: Absurdities and Realities of Special Education, Ants in His Pants