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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5 2000 1 1998
Miniature of Slumberville
Slumberville
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    • Creator: Giangreco, Michael F., 1956-.
    • Date Created: 2000
    • Description: The cartoon shows a group of 5 people sitting in front of an audience at a curved table. The sign on the front of the table is labeled, "Slumberville School Board." The man on the far left side of the table says, "We need staff who can make decisions and accommodations on the spot for students with disabilities in regular classes." The woman next to him says, "...and they have to be adept at dealing with challenging behaviors." The man in the center says, "And they must be proficient in teaching core academics." The woman on his other side says, "...and life skills too!." The woman on the far right says, "...and we hope to accomplish this by hiring a small army of untrained paraprofessionals at $7.00 dollars and hour." The tag line reads, "If you need staff with the skills of teachers and special educators, maybe you need to hire teachers and special educators."
    • Parent Collections: Absurdities and Realities of Special Education, Teaching Old Logs New Tricks
    Miniature of Doing it Wrong Doesn't Make it Wrong
    Doing it Wrong Doesn't Make it Wrong
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      • Creator: Giangreco, Michael F., 1956-.
      • Date Created: 1998
      • Description: This cartoon shows two school colleagues conversing. The one seated behind the desk says, "We placed Jason in a regular class part of the time, we assigned a full-time aide, and we even did therapy in the back of the classroom. He still can't do the same work as the other kids... Inclusion isn't right for everyone." His colleague shakes his head in disbelief and replies, "You STILL don't get it!" The tag line under the cartoon reads, "Inclusive Education: Doing it wrong doesn't make it wrong." The note on the side indicates, "Inspired by Michael Hock."
      • Parent Collections: Absurdities and Realities of Special Education, Ants in His Pants
      Miniature of Word Problems
      Word Problems
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        • Creator: Giangreco, Michael F., 1956-.
        • Date Created: 2000
        • Description: The cartoon shows a document labeled, "Mediation Exam." It reads, "27. During a one-hour meeting, if a parent speaks about her child's educational needs at 120 words per minute and a professional listens to 83 of those words per minute while simultaneously scanning 6 pages of the students file, how many years will if take for them to understand each other?" There is a hand with a pencil coming from the right side of the panel getting ready to write in the answer. The tag line reads, "Word Problems."
        • Parent Collections: Absurdities and Realities of Special Education, Teaching Old Logs New Tricks
        Miniature of Band-Aid Approach
        Band-Aid Approach
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          • Creator: Giangreco, Michael F., 1956-.
          • Date Created: 2000
          • Description: The cartoon shows a woman with short blonde hair and purple dress on the left side of the panel. She is a teacher. She is holding a green binder talking to a person-sized Band-Aid who is a paraprofessional. The teacher says, "Here's the deal: we've got lots of kids, too many who need extra help, too much paperwork, not enough planning time, and extensive staff development needs. Thank goodness you're here! Our problems are solved!" The Band-Aid responds, "I'll do what I can, but I can only do so much." The tag line reads, "Band-Aid Approach: Are we expecting too much of instructional assistants?"
          • Parent Collections: Absurdities and Realities of Special Education, Teaching Old Logs New Tricks
          Miniature of Fish
          Fish
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            • Creator: Giangreco, Michael F., 1956-.
            • Date Created: 2000
            • Description: The cartoon shows a seafood market with a fish monger selling fish to a woman with a shopping cart. The tag line reads, "Supported employment lesson #6: Give a person a fish and that person eats for a day. Teach a person to work and that person can buy fish any day!"
            • Parent Collections: Absurdities and Realities of Special Education, Teaching Old Logs New Tricks
            Miniature of Helping hands
            Helping hands
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              • Creator: Giangreco, Michael F., 1956-.
              • Date Created: 2000
              • Description: The cartoon shows two teachers talking as they are looking at a shelf that has a gravy boat with two hands sticking up out of it. One woman says, "What's with the mannequin hands in the gravy boat?" The other responds, "They're to remind me of the distinction between my role as a teacher and my assistant's role." The tag line reads, "Classroom Assistants: Expect an extra pair of helping hands. The other great things they do are gravy."
              • Parent Collections: Absurdities and Realities of Special Education, Teaching Old Logs New Tricks