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
- Crazy Like a Fox
- Date Created
- 1999
- Description
-
The cartoon shows a man holding a coffee cup and a clip board talking to a female fox. The man says "Are you crazy? Why do you keep requesting that students with disabilities be placed in your class?" The fox responds "Well, I enjoy the students, I learn a lot. Overall, it's helped me become a...
Show moreThe cartoon shows a man holding a coffee cup and a clip board talking to a female fox. The man says "Are you crazy? Why do you keep requesting that students with disabilities be placed in your class?" The fox responds "Well, I enjoy the students, I learn a lot. Overall, it's helped me become a better teacher for all my students." The tag line reads "Crazy Like a Fox."
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- Title
- Falling in the Woods
- Date Created
- 1999
- Description
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The cartoon shows a path in the woods with trees all around. There is a person falling backward and all you can see are their feet and a hand. The tag line reads "If a student with a disability falls in the woods, on the grounds of a special education school, and there are no nondisabled peers...
Show moreThe cartoon shows a path in the woods with trees all around. There is a person falling backward and all you can see are their feet and a hand. The tag line reads "If a student with a disability falls in the woods, on the grounds of a special education school, and there are no nondisabled peers there to hear him, does his fall make a sound?"
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- Title
- Lunacy
- Date Created
- 1999
- Description
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The cartoon shows the full moon with stars in the dark sky and a dog sitting on the top of a hill howling at the moon. There is a building with a group of people that you can see through a window sitting around a table having a meeting. Someone in the room says "Are we in agreement? In order to...
Show moreThe cartoon shows the full moon with stars in the dark sky and a dog sitting on the top of a hill howling at the moon. There is a building with a group of people that you can see through a window sitting around a table having a meeting. Someone in the room says "Are we in agreement? In order to teach our students with disabilities to function in our community we should send them away to learn some place else." The tag line reads "Lunacy!? After several bad experiences with the lunar cycle, school officials decide not to hold any more meetings during the full moon."
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- Title
- Pinocchio's Cousin
- Date Created
- 1999
- Description
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The cartoon shows three panels of a man sitting at a desk on the phone with a parent. In the first panel he is saying "I'm sorry, but we don't have any space available for you child with disabilities in our school." The second panel shows the man's nose getting longer and he is saying "Even if we...
Show moreThe cartoon shows three panels of a man sitting at a desk on the phone with a parent. In the first panel he is saying "I'm sorry, but we don't have any space available for you child with disabilities in our school." The second panel shows the man's nose getting longer and he is saying "Even if we did, we can't provide the necessary supports in a regular class." The third panel show his nose even longer and he is saying "We really don't have a choice. All students with severe disabilities have to go to the district's special program." The tag line reads "A distant cousin of Pinocchio discovers he has inherited one of his families recessive traits."
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- Title
- Placement Matters
- Date Created
- 1999
- Description
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The cartoon shows a car driving away with a bird nest on the tire and the bird flapping her wings and trying to fly away. The tag line reads "Examples from nature remind us that placement really does matter." A note on the left says, "Inspired by a robin in my yard."
- Title
- Placement Problem #32
- 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."
- Title
- Swimming Lessons
- Date Created
- 1999
- Description
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The cartoon shows three panels. The top panel shows kids playing in a pool with a ball and a man standing at the side of the pool talking to a small child. He is saying "Stop! You can't swim so you are not allowed in the pool!" A small caption in the lower right corner of the panel reads "Long...
Show moreThe cartoon shows three panels. The top panel shows kids playing in a pool with a ball and a man standing at the side of the pool talking to a small child. He is saying "Stop! You can't swim so you are not allowed in the pool!" A small caption in the lower right corner of the panel reads "Long Ago." The second panel shows two men throwing a child into a pool. The child is yelling, "AHHHH" The one man says "We'll throw you in. You'll either sink or swim." A small caption in the right corner of the panel reads "Not so long ago." The third panel shows two guys in a pool one has a inner tube on and the other one is helping him. The helper says "We'll start your swimming lessons with some fun activities and supports that we'll fade out later." A small caption in the right lower corner reads "Today" The tag line reads "The evolution of swimming lessons: surprisingly similar to the evolution of including students with disabilities in general education."
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