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 51 - 60 of 106 Records
Fear of Formulas
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- Creator: Giangreco, Michael F., 1956-.
- Date Created: 1999
- Description: The cartoon shows a man watching TV. The man on the TV is saying "A new national study revealed that a majority of the nation's special education teachers choose their college major to avoid taking advanced math classes." The man watching the TV's thought bubble says "And all this time I thought I was the only one." The tag line reads "Having never advanced past math 101 (math in everyday life), Fred is comforted by the realization that he was not alone in his fear of formulas."
- Parent Collections: Absurdities and Realities of Special Education, Flying by the Seat of Your Pants
Three Bears
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- Creator: Giangreco, Michael F., 1956-.
- Date Created: 1999
- Description: The cartoon shows a Mama bear, a Papa bear, and a Baby bear sitting on Papa bear's lap. Mama bear is sitting on a stump knitting listening to Papa bear who is sitting in a chair reading to Baby bear. Papa bear reads out loud "When Goldilocks went to school, they gave her support services. The first set was too small and it didn't fit...the next set was too big and didn't fit...the next set was just right and it fit!" The tag line reads, "Support services that are 'only as special as necessary' fit just right!"
- 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
Head in the Clouds
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- Creator: Giangreco, Michael F., 1956-.
- Date Created: 1999
- Description: The cartoon shows two people standing at the top of a mountain overlooking a town with their heads in the clouds. The tag line reads, "Inclusive Education: Proving you can dream with your head in the clouds and still have your feet on the ground."
- Parent Collections: Absurdities and Realities of Special Education, Flying by the Seat of Your Pants
Placement Problem #32
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- Creator: Giangreco, Michael F., 1956-.
- Date Created: 1999
- Description: The cartoon shows a classroom of students with one very large older boy sitting with all the other younger children. The tag lines reads "Placement problem #32: Functioning level rather than chronological age."
- Parent Collections: Absurdities and Realities of Special Education, Flying by the Seat of Your Pants
Mr. IEP
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- Creator: Giangreco, Michael F., 1956-.
- Date Created: 1999
- Description: The cartoon shows a coffee maker and instructions how to make an IEP with it. The cartoon says "Introducing…Mr. IEP 1. Insert student needs packet (shows putting coffee filter into the coffee maker) 2. Pour in 8 cups of possible IEP goals (shows water pouring into the back of the coffee maker) 3. Turn On Mr. IEP (shows where to turn on the coffee maker) Enjoy perfect IEPs every time!" The tag line reads "Special educators invent misguided automated approaches."
- Parent Collections: Absurdities and Realities of Special Education, Flying by the Seat of Your Pants
Recycling
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- Creator: Giangreco, Michael F., 1956-.
- Date Created: 1999
- Description: The cartoon shows two educators talking in front of a filing cabinet. The woman says "Tom's IEP is due soon. What should we do?" The man responds "No sweat. I've saved every IEP I've ever written over the past 15 years. Pick one and we'll go from there." The tag line reads, "Recycling 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
Multiple Personalities
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- Creator: Giangreco, Michael F., 1956-.
- Date Created: 1999
- Description: The cartoon shows two panels stacked vertically. The top panel shows a man sitting in a chair across from a psychotherapist holding a clipboard. The psychotherapist says "When you count to 3, you vil vake up and remember nothing from hypnosis..1..2..3." In the lower panel it shows the man wake up and he says, "What happened?" The psychotherapist says, "Ed, you have at least 5 personalities, Early Ed, Special Ed, Vocational Ed, Bilingual Ed, and Regular Ed. Resulting in internal conflict." the tag line reads "Ed is diagnosed with multiple personality disorder."
- Parent Collections: Absurdities and Realities of Special Education, Flying by the Seat of Your Pants
Fashionable Footwear
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- Creator: Giangreco, Michael F., 1956-.
- Date Created: 1999
- Description: The cartoon shows a woman looking in the mirror wearing a pair of waders. The tag line reads "Mrs. Foster finds fashionable, functional footwear to attend her daughter's due process hearing."
- Parent Collections: Absurdities and Realities of Special Education, Flying by the Seat of Your Pants