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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Pages
- Title
- Fanning The Flames
- Date Created
- 2000
- Description
-
The cartoon shows an outdoor scene with a bridge over a gully and three people standing on it. There are two people under the bridge building a small fire. One of the people on the bridge says, "Are you warm or is it just me?" One of the people under the bridge says, "It's got to be hot, but not...
Show moreThe cartoon shows an outdoor scene with a bridge over a gully and three people standing on it. There are two people under the bridge building a small fire. One of the people on the bridge says, "Are you warm or is it just me?" One of the people under the bridge says, "It's got to be hot, but not too hot." The tag line reads, "Fanning the flames of change: Lighting a fire under people without burning your bridges."
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- Title
- Fashionable Footwear
- 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."
- Title
- Fear of Formulas
- 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...
Show moreThe 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."
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- Title
- Finding Filling Files Fulfilling
- Date Created
- 1998
- Description
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This cartoon shows a special educator holding several file folders as he stands in front of a four-drawer file cabinet and says, "Thank goodness we're finally done with the IEP. Now we can file it and do what we really want." The tag line under the cartoon reads, "Fred finds filling file cabinets...
Show moreThis cartoon shows a special educator holding several file folders as he stands in front of a four-drawer file cabinet and says, "Thank goodness we're finally done with the IEP. Now we can file it and do what we really want." The tag line under the cartoon reads, "Fred finds filling file cabinets a strangely fulfilling part of his job."
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- Title
- Fish
- 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!"
- Title
- Fish Bowl
- Date Created
- 1998
- Description
-
This cartoon shows a round fishbowl that includes a teacher and students inside represented as fish. The teacher says, "Now class, for our next activity…" Four people are outside the fish bowl intensely observing what is happening inside the fishbowl. The tag line under the cartoon says, ...
Show moreThis cartoon shows a round fishbowl that includes a teacher and students inside represented as fish. The teacher says, "Now class, for our next activity…" Four people are outside the fish bowl intensely observing what is happening inside the fishbowl. The tag line under the cartoon says, "Sometimes having so many visitors makes Mrs. Grouper feel like she's in a fish bowl."
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- Title
- Flush It!
- Date Created
- 2000
- Description
-
The cartoon shows a toilet with four buckets of money being poured into it; each with a different label: (a) Inadequate Instruction, (b) Questionable Curriculum, (c) Untrained Staff, and (d) Inadequate Staffing Ratios. The tag line reads, "Unless you spend enough money to meet a basic threshold...
Show moreThe cartoon shows a toilet with four buckets of money being poured into it; each with a different label: (a) Inadequate Instruction, (b) Questionable Curriculum, (c) Untrained Staff, and (d) Inadequate Staffing Ratios. The tag line reads, "Unless you spend enough money to meet a basic threshold of effectiveness, you might as well just flush it!"
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- Title
- Flying by the Seat of Your Pants
- Date Created
- 1999
- Description
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The cartoon shows a man wearing wings strapped to his arms crashing into the side of a brick building. The tag line reads "After trying to fly by the seat of his pants, Fred learned that good teaching requires good planning."
- Title
- Fun Meeting
- Date Created
- 1999
- Description
-
The cartoon shows 5 men and women sitting in a hot tub. Mr. Moody says "this is the best meeting we've ever had!" The tag line reads "Team members find fun ways to facilitate their meetings!"
- Title
- General Ed
- Date Created
- 1999
- Description
-
The cartoon shows a General named Ed standing in front of an American flag saluting. The tag line reads, "Few people know that before he was 'General Ed' he was 'Special Ed.'"
- Title
- Grain of Salt
- Date Created
- 2000
- Description
-
The cartoon shows a man sitting at a dinner table set with plate and utensils. On the plate are papers the top sheet is labeled, "Model Program Report: The greatest thing since sliced bread." The man is seasoning the report with a salt shaker. The tag line reads, "Whatever hype is served up, take...
Show moreThe cartoon shows a man sitting at a dinner table set with plate and utensils. On the plate are papers the top sheet is labeled, "Model Program Report: The greatest thing since sliced bread." The man is seasoning the report with a salt shaker. The tag line reads, "Whatever hype is served up, take it with at least a grain of salt."
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- Title
- Grapevine
- Date Created
- 1999
- Description
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The cartoon shows three panels. The top panel shows a grapevine with grapes, the grapes are saying "The new student is artistic?" The next panel shows the continuation of the grapevine with another bunch of grapes and this bunch is saying "Yes, quite artistic!" The third panel shows the end of...
Show moreThe cartoon shows three panels. The top panel shows a grapevine with grapes, the grapes are saying "The new student is artistic?" The next panel shows the continuation of the grapevine with another bunch of grapes and this bunch is saying "Yes, quite artistic!" The third panel shows the end of the grapevine with another bunch of grapes saying "I heard that the new student is quiet and autistic!" The tag line reads "Communication Breakdown #15: Hearing anything through the grapevine continues to be a very unreliable way to get accurate information."
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- Title
- Great Moments in History
- Date Created
- 2000
- Description
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The cartoon shows two people at a desk a woman sitting behind the desk and a man standing in front of her. The woman is erasing something from a bell-curve graph on a document called, "Mental Retardation Definition Change." The man is saying "Tomorrow, when this becomes official, how many people...
Show moreThe cartoon shows two people at a desk a woman sitting behind the desk and a man standing in front of her. The woman is erasing something from a bell-curve graph on a document called, "Mental Retardation Definition Change." The man is saying "Tomorrow, when this becomes official, how many people will no longer be mentally retarded?" The woman responds, "LOTS!" The tag line reads, "Great Moments in special education history: The 1970's provide proof-positive that disability is a social construction."
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- Title
- Hall Patrol
- 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...
Show moreThe 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."
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- Title
- Hard Questions
- Date Created
- 2000
- Description
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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
- Hardening of the Attitudes
- Date Created
- 2000
- Description
-
The cartoon shows an overweight, middle-aged man in his underwear sitting on an examining table in his doctor's office. The doctor is standing in front of him listening to the man's heart with a stethoscope. The man says to the doctor, "What is Doc? I can take it!" The doctor replies, "I'm afraid...
Show moreThe cartoon shows an overweight, middle-aged man in his underwear sitting on an examining table in his doctor's office. The doctor is standing in front of him listening to the man's heart with a stethoscope. The man says to the doctor, "What is Doc? I can take it!" The doctor replies, "I'm afraid you have a common affliction among veteran educators...Attituderial Asclerosis." The tag line reads, "Harry is diagnosed with hardening of the attitudes."
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- Title
- Hazards
- Date Created
- 2000
- Description
-
The cartoon shows a golf course with people playing in all different areas. A player is in a water hazard labeled "Staffing." Another player is a sand trap labeled, "Funding." A third player is stuck in a patch of tall grass labeled, "Service Coordinator." Another is stuck among the trees,...
Show moreThe cartoon shows a golf course with people playing in all different areas. A player is in a water hazard labeled "Staffing." Another player is a sand trap labeled, "Funding." A third player is stuck in a patch of tall grass labeled, "Service Coordinator." Another is stuck among the trees, labeled "Bureaucracy," and is trying to hit toward the 18th hole. The tag line reads, "The hazards of transition planning are par for the course."
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- Title
- Heavenly Times
- Date Created
- 2007
- Description
-
This cartoon shows the front page of the newspaper Heavenly Times, each side of the title banner shows a winged angel trumpeting. The headline reads, "Scholar Turns Over in Grave, by C. U. Later." The story includes an image of the cemetery headstone of noted anthropologist, Margaret Mead, 1901...
Show moreThis cartoon shows the front page of the newspaper Heavenly Times, each side of the title banner shows a winged angel trumpeting. The headline reads, "Scholar Turns Over in Grave, by C. U. Later." The story includes an image of the cemetery headstone of noted anthropologist, Margaret Mead, 1901-1978, R.I.P. The story reads as follows: "Dateline: Research Heaven. Since her death in 1978, world-renowned anthropologist, Margaret Mead, has been resting peacefully with the full knowledge that varied research methodologies have become increasingly utilized to better understand and improve the human condition. Mead's slumber was abruptly interrupted when federal legislation defined 'scientifically based research' in a manner that dramatically narrows the scope of educational inquiry. Sources close to Mead, report that she is so upset about the government's tampering with foundational research principles that she is organizing a purposeful sample of deceased researchers of various quantitative and qualitative methodological persuasions to peacefully protest this limiting definition by haunting government agencies that restrict or devalue diverse forms of research."
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- Title
- Hell-Bent on Helping
- Date Created
- 1999
- Description
-
The cartoon shows two people one in a wheelchair and one on crutches. The person in the wheelchair says to the person on the crutches "The only problem with people in the helping professions is that they are constantly wanting to help you." The person on the crutches says "Go figure?" The tag...
Show moreThe cartoon shows two people one in a wheelchair and one on crutches. The person in the wheelchair says to the person on the crutches "The only problem with people in the helping professions is that they are constantly wanting to help you." The person on the crutches says "Go figure?" The tag line reads "Hell-Bent on Helping." A note on the left says, "Inspired by Emma VanderKlift"
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- Title
- Helping hands
- 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...
Show moreThe 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."
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