Absurdities and Realities of Special Education
Collection Overview
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...
Show moreAbsurdities 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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- Title
- Common Denominator
- Date Created
- 2000
- Description
-
The cartoon shows a chalkboard with a complicated equation on it. There is a woman sitting on a chair in front of the chalkboard, she has circled a statement in the denominator of the answer that says, "Kids lives will be better because they went to our school!" She exclaims, "I've Got It!" The...
Show moreThe cartoon shows a chalkboard with a complicated equation on it. There is a woman sitting on a chair in front of the chalkboard, she has circled a statement in the denominator of the answer that says, "Kids lives will be better because they went to our school!" She exclaims, "I've Got It!" The tag line reads, "Following fierce figuring and formulating Fern finds the common denominator of quality education."
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- Title
- Dress Code
- Date Created
- 2000
- Description
-
The cartoon shows Mr. Moody dressed in a white suit from the 70's (he is in a classic pose like John Travolta in the Saturday Night Fever). He is dancing and a disco ball spinning colors reflecting around the room. The tag line reads, "Dress Code: Mr. Moody enacts a new policy: 'All faculty shall...
Show moreThe cartoon shows Mr. Moody dressed in a white suit from the 70's (he is in a classic pose like John Travolta in the Saturday Night Fever). He is dancing and a disco ball spinning colors reflecting around the room. The tag line reads, "Dress Code: Mr. Moody enacts a new policy: 'All faculty shall wear clothing consistent with the era that matches their educational practices.'"
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- Title
- Hard Questions
- Date Created
- 2000
- Description
-
The cartoon shows a woman and a man talking. The man is on the left side of the panel and is saying to the woman, "In our school there are some teachers who lecture to middle-achieving students. Do you really think that will work for students with special needs?" The woman responds, "Probably not...
Show moreThe cartoon shows a woman and a man talking. The man is on the left side of the panel and is saying to the woman, "In our school there are some teachers who lecture to middle-achieving students. Do you really think that will work for students with special needs?" The woman responds, "Probably not. But ask yourself, 'Does that kind of teaching work for many other students?' Let's figure out how we can teach all the kids." The tag line under the image reads, "Answering questions with questions."
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- Title
- Pants down
- Date Created
- 2000
- Description
-
The cartoon shows a man with his pants down around his ankles wearing blue boxers with red hearts on them. He has a file in his hand and papers have fallen out on the floor that are labeled, "IEP." The man is saying "OOOOPS!" The tag line reads, "Are you prepared for all your students? Don't be...
Show moreThe cartoon shows a man with his pants down around his ankles wearing blue boxers with red hearts on them. He has a file in his hand and papers have fallen out on the floor that are labeled, "IEP." The man is saying "OOOOPS!" The tag line reads, "Are you prepared for all your students? Don't be caught with your pants down!"
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