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 1 - 10 of 16 Records
Frequent Includer Program
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- Creator: Giangreco, Michael F., 1956-.
- Date Created: 1999
- Description: The Cartoon shows a male teacher sitting at a desk with two parents standing on the other side of the desk in front of him. The teacher is saying "So, I can earn 20,000 points for each student with a disability I include in a regular class?" The father says "That's right! Redeemable for items in our catalogue." The tag line reads "Desperate parents resort to establishing their own 'frequent Includer Program.'"
- Parent Collections: Absurdities and Realities of Special Education, Flying by the Seat of Your Pants
Tenacious Advocate
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- 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
Inclusion Patrol
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- Creator: Giangreco, Michael F., 1956-.
- Date Created: 1999
- Description: This cartoon has two panels stacked vertically. The top panel is divided, showing two people talking on the phone. The man on the left says, "Inclusion patrol can I help you?" the woman on the right (Mrs. Snippett) says, "Yes. We are trying to develop a model to transition our preschool students with disabilities into inclusive settings when they reach school age. Have you heard of any good models?" In the bottom panel the same two people are on the phone. The man says, "Yes, ma'am. It's called kindergarten in the neighborhood schools." She replies, "Right?! We hadn't thought of that!" The tag line under the cartoon reads, "Another annoying true story from the files of the inclusion patrol."
- Parent Collections: Absurdities and Realities of Special Education, Flying by the Seat of Your Pants
Teaching Spectrum Disorder
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- Creator: Giangreco, Michael F., 1956-.
- Date Created: 2000
- Description: The cartoon shows two parents sitting holding hands across a table from two educators, a man and a woman. The father is saying, "What have you learned from your evaluation? Why is Sam having such difficulty learning?" To which the woman educator says, "The good news is that Sam doesn't have learning disabilities! The bad news is his teacher has "Pervasive Developmental Teaching Delays." The tag line reads, "Sam's teacher is diagnosed with a 'Teaching Spectrum Disorder'."
- Parent Collections: Absurdities and Realities of Special Education, Teaching Old Logs New Tricks
Book Club
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- Creator: Giangreco, Michael F., 1956-.
- Date Created: 1999
- Description: The cartoon shows a group of people sitting around in a living room having tea there is a cat sitting on the coffee table. One of the women sitting on the couch says "This month's book club selection is controversial and quite revealing. Some of you might even find it shocking." The tag line reads "Club members prepare to read 'Everything you always wanted to know about special education but were afraid to ask.'"
- Parent Collections: Absurdities and Realities of Special Education, Flying by the Seat of Your Pants
Adjustment Problem
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- Creator: Giangreco, Michael F., 1956-.
- Date Created: 1999
- Description: This cartoon has two panels stacked vertically; they shows a man who is a school administrator calling Mrs. Jones from the school. The top panel is split in half. On the left half there is the administrator from the school on the phone saying, "Mrs. Jones we're having a problem at school. Sarah, Buzz, Roy, and Val seem to be having difficulty getting along with your daughter." On the right half of the panel Mrs. Jones says into the phone, "I'm so surprised! I thought she was getting along so well with her classmates!" The panel on the bottom is split the same as above and the administrator is saying "She is! Sarah, Buzz, Roy and Val are Adults." Mrs. Jones has a thought bubble with gray in it and she has a frown on her face. The tag line reads, "Adjustment Problems: 'Usually the adults, rarely the kids.'"
- Parent Collections: Absurdities and Realities of Special Education, Flying by the Seat of Your Pants
Trick Question
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- Creator: Giangreco, Michael F., 1956-.
- Date Created: 2000
- Description: The cartoon shows Mr. Moody (a school principal) meeting with a mother. She is saying, "We're trying to decide which school district is best for our daughter. So we want to know what you have: Inclusion? Inclusive Education? Or Full Inclusion?" Mr. Moody replies, "Ohhhh...I get it! It's a trick question right?!?" The tag line reads, "Mr. Moody continues to be befuddled by the lack of clear definition."
- Parent Collections: Absurdities and Realities of Special Education, Teaching Old Logs New Tricks
Educational Jeopardy
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- Creator: Giangreco, Michael F., 1956-.
- Date Created: 1999
- Description: The cartoon shows the game show Jeopardy. The categories on the wall are "Grumpy People" "Big Battles, Little Battles" "You Did What?" "Can't Get There From Here." At the top of the panel it says "Your Child's in Educational Jeopardy." In the panel the game show host says "Janet, it's your turn." and Janet replies "I'll take Grumpy People for $100" the tag line reads "Parents find new ways to raise money for educationally related legal fees."
- Parent Collections: Absurdities and Realities of Special Education, Flying by the Seat of Your Pants
Family-Centered Approaches
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- Creator: Giangreco, Michael F., 1956-.
- Date Created: 1999
- Description: The cartoon shows a group of educators sitting in chairs in a circle with a man and a woman sitting in the center of the circle back to back. The woman says to the man, "This isn't exactly what I had in mind." The man says "Me either." The tag line reads "Family - Centered approaches gone bad."
- Parent Collections: Absurdities and Realities of Special Education, Flying by the Seat of Your Pants
Option Paralysis
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- Creator: Giangreco, Michael F., 1956-.
- Date Created: 1999
- Description: The cartoon shows a principal of a school standing on the left side of the panel in an office with a woman in the lower right corner of the panel. There is a table and chairs and papers on the table. The principal holds a very long list and says "In planning your daughter's IEP, we'd like you to chose from this comprehensive list of 13,941 learning outcomes." The woman looks at the principal. She is overwhelmed and has with huge confused eyes. The tag line under the cartoon reads, "Mrs. Baker Experiences 'Option Paralysis'."
- Parent Collections: Absurdities and Realities of Special Education, Flying by the Seat of Your Pants