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 91 - 100 of 106 Records
Thick Skin
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- Creator: Giangreco, Michael F., 1956-.
- Date Created: 1999
- Description: The cartoon shows a man, with a tattoo of a blue anchor on his arm. He is leaning his arm on a table and gritting his teeth, as another person pinches his bicep with calipers. The tag line reads "After a successful interview, Harry undergoes a final screening to see if his skin is thick enough to be offered an administrative position."
- Parent Collections: Absurdities and Realities of Special Education, Flying by the Seat of Your Pants
Flying by the Seat of Your Pants
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- Creator: Giangreco, Michael F., 1956-.
- Date Created: 1999
- Description: This book includes 105 color cartoon images that were originally published in black and white in: Giangreco, M. F. (1999). Flying by the seat of your pants: More absurdities and realities of special education. Corwin. (out of print, 2019)
- Parent Collections: Absurdities and Realities of Special Education, Flying by the Seat of Your Pants
Let's Play Due Process
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- Creator: Giangreco, Michael F., 1956-.
- Date Created: 1999
- Description: The cartoon shows three people in the front of the frame in shadow listening to a man standing behind a podium. There is a sign on the wall behind the man at the podium that reads "Let's Play Due Process!" The man at the podium says "OK teams, let's review the rules..." The tag line reads "DUE PROCESS the game where everybody gets a turn, nobody has fun, and, even if you win, you feel like you've lost!"
- Parent Collections: Absurdities and Realities of Special Education, Flying by the Seat of Your Pants
Home Reality
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- Creator: Giangreco, Michael F., 1956-.
- Date Created: 1999
- Description: The cartoon shows a man and woman sitting and looking exasperated and tired. The mans says to the woman, "We made it through another busy day. Work, dinner, the kids homework, dishes, laundry, bills paid, the kid's baths, bedtime stories…" and the woman responds, "Oh No! We forgot to do the 'home therapy program' and to work on 'IEP Goals'!" The tag line reads "Home programming collides with home reality!"
- Parent Collections: Absurdities and Realities of Special Education, Flying by the Seat of Your Pants
Oasis
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- Creator: Giangreco, Michael F., 1956-.
- Date Created: 1999
- Description: The cartoon shows a hand holding the door open to a public bathroom. Under the bathroom stall are legs with pants down. The person holding the door says "Mr. Moody, are you OK? You've been in there for an hour!" Mr. Moody responds, "You can't make me come out! Can you have my lunch sent in here?" The tag line reads "After a stressful morning, Principal Moody is reluctant to relinquish the only oasis of peace and solitude he can find."
- Parent Collections: Absurdities and Realities of Special Education, Flying by the Seat of Your Pants
Periscope
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- Creator: Giangreco, Michael F., 1956-.
- Date Created: 1999
- Description: The cartoon shows two panels. In the first panel there is a man sitting in a wheelchair looking at everyone's legs. The second panel shows the man in the wheelchair with a periscope and all the faces and upper parts of the other peoples bodies. The tagline reads "Joe thinks a periscope should come as standard equipment with every wheelchair."
- Parent Collections: Absurdities and Realities of Special Education, Flying by the Seat of Your Pants
Corporate Sponsorship
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- Creator: Giangreco, Michael F., 1956-.
- Date Created: 1999
- Description: The cartoon shows two people one in a wheelchair and one pushing the wheelchair wearing a sandwich board. On the sandwich board it says "Edna's House of Thimbles" The tag line reads "In an effort to cut the costs of special education, Central High School pursues corporate sponsorship for each of its staff."
- Parent Collections: Absurdities and Realities of Special Education, Flying by the Seat of Your Pants
Hall Patrol
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- Creator: Giangreco, Michael F., 1956-.
- Date Created: 1999
- Description: The cartoon shows a young man in a wheelchair looking a little worried and a Safety Patrol woman writing on a clipboard. The young man says, "What seems to be the problem?" The Safety Patrol woman says, "I'm issuing you a citation for failure to wear a seat belt while operating a wheelchair." The tag line reads, "Hall Patrol, Hellen is her name, safety is her game."
- Parent Collections: Absurdities and Realities of Special Education, Flying by the Seat of Your Pants
Looking for Luck
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- Creator: Giangreco, Michael F., 1956-.
- Date Created: 1999
- Description: The cartoon shows a man wearing a Fighting Irish shirt, throwing salt over his right shoulder, holding a 4 leaf clover and a rabbit's foot, standing on 2 horseshoes. There is a person in the lower left corner of the panel asking, "What are you doing?" The man responds, "Getting ready for my son's IEP Meeting." The tag line reads "Looking for luck in all the wrong places."
- Parent Collections: Absurdities and Realities of Special Education, Flying by the Seat of Your Pants
Inclusive Proverb
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- Creator: Giangreco, Michael F., 1956-.
- Date Created: 1999
- Description: The cartoon shows a couple having Chinese food. In the right of the panel the man has a lot of fortune cookies broken in front of him. The woman in the left of the panel says, "Don't you think that's enough? We have to do something!" The man responds, "I'm hoping to keep opening fortune cookies until I get on that says, 'Your child will be appropriately supported in general education.'" The tag line reads "Not so ancient inclusive proverb: Take Action! Persistence overcomes resistance."
- Parent Collections: Absurdities and Realities of Special Education, Flying by the Seat of Your Pants