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
- Name that Discipline
- Date Created
- 1998
- Description
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This cartoon shows three parents next to each other standing behind podiums labeled, Parent 1, 2 and 3; behind them is the name of the game show they are playing, "Name that Discipline." Parent number 1 says, "I can name that discipline in one goal!" The show's host says, "OK, Here's you next...
Show moreThis cartoon shows three parents next to each other standing behind podiums labeled, Parent 1, 2 and 3; behind them is the name of the game show they are playing, "Name that Discipline." Parent number 1 says, "I can name that discipline in one goal!" The show's host says, "OK, Here's you next clue: Sally will increase bilateral lip posturing, lip movement and lateralization." The tag line below the cartoon reads, "Having suffered through excessive exposure to professionals, parents look for fun ways of coping."
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- Title
- Pulling in Different Directions
- Date Created
- 1998
- Description
-
This cartoon shows a distressed looking students whose body parts are being pulled in different directions by ropes attached and labeled by various disciplines. A rope attached to his left leg (labeled PT) is pulling out. Another rope is attached to his right arm (labeled OT) is pulling in the...
Show moreThis cartoon shows a distressed looking students whose body parts are being pulled in different directions by ropes attached and labeled by various disciplines. A rope attached to his left leg (labeled PT) is pulling out. Another rope is attached to his right arm (labeled OT) is pulling in the opposite direction. A rope attached to his throat (labeled SLP) is pulling a different direction. A rope attached to his head (labeled Special Ed) is pulling in a different direction. The student being pulled in different directions says, "I'm not sure this is working for me!" The tag line under cartoon reads, Fred expresses concern after team members agree to all pull in different directions. "A tag line on the side reads, "With help from Dan Giangreco."
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