Creating a Positive School Climate
Cathy Smith
School Counselor at Elton High School
Jeff Davis Parish Chapter President
http://www.bucketfillers101.com/
 Free Resources
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Books & Resources
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Gifts & Incentives
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http://www.bucketfillers101.com/
https://www.pinterest.com/
 Discover thousands of images about Bucket Filler
Activities on Pinterest, a visual bookmarking tool that
helps you discover and save creative ideas.
SO MANY IDEAS!!!
 http://character.org/lessons/lesson-
plans/elementary/eldridge-park-elementary-school/
 http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/topteaching/2010/04/are-your-students-bucket-fillers
 file:///E:/15_16/guide-to-successful-bucket-fillertechniques-o-fin.pdf
 Book Scanned
http://www.oldbridgeadmin.org/files/805645/have%2
0you%20filled%20a%20bucket%20today.pdf
SO MANY IDEAS, continued
 http://www.schcounselor.com/2011/04/compliments
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self-esteem-and-bucket.html
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/FREEBucket-Fillers-571830
http://www.twinkl.co.uk/resources/have-you-filled-abucket-today-story-primary-teaching-resources/1
http://www.teachingheart.net/bucket.html
http://www.teacherweb.com/in/northwesternelement
aryschool/mrsdill/bucketfill-osophy.pdf
Pinterest
 https://www.pinterest.com/jendemfit/school-bucket-
filler-activities/
 https://www.pinterest.com/mcourvelle/bucket-fillers/
 https://www.pinterest.com/meghan1820/bucketfilling/
You Tube
 The Learning Station
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WaddbqEQ1NE
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cv3_IN968iM
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rh7zqz0faZw
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4McJWrV8dzo
Paradigm Shift
 A radical change in thinking from an
accepted point of view to a new belief
 Psychology Professor, Don Clifton

1950 – University of Nebraska
 Wondered what is right with people!

Not was is wrong with people!
 Focus on the positive

Not the negative
Research for 50 Years
 Millions of interviews focusing on the positive
 Discovery
 Our lives are shaped by our interactions with others.


From long conversations with a friend
To simple place an order
EVERY INTERACTION MAKES A DIFFERENCE
Interactions are rarely neutral
POSITIVE
OR
NEGATIVE
Don Clifton, PHD
 Recognized by the American




Psychological Association
Father of Strengths Psychology
Now, Discover Your Strengths, earlier book
Coauthored How Full is Your Bucket? with Tom Rath
as he was undergoing chemotherapy and radiation.
He died in 2003
The Theory of the Dipper
and the Bucket
• Each of us has an invisible bucket
• Constantly emptied or filled
• Depending on what others say or do to us
• Bucket is full = feel great
• Bucket is empty = feel awful
 Each has an invisible dipper
 Used to fill buckets = saying or doing
nice things
 Fill other buckets, it fills our own bucket
 Used to dip into buckets = saying or
doing not nice things
 Dip into other buckets, it diminishes our bucket
Cup Runneth Over
 Full bucket = Positive outlook
 Full bucket = Renewed energy
Every drop in the bucket makes
us stronger and more optimistic!
Empty Bucket
 Empty bucket = Bad outlook
 Empty bucket = Saps our energy
 Empty bucket = Undermines our will
That’s why every time someone dips
from our bucket, it hurts us.
It all started with research on
Korean Prisoner’s of War
 Studied 1,000 American POW’s in
North Korean Camps
 Given food, water, shelter
 No physical torture
 No barbed wire fence
 No soldiers surrounded the camps
Disease of Extreme Hopelessness
 POW’s would go into the corner alone, pull
a blanket over their head and die within two
days.
 Soldier’s called it ‘give up-itis’
 Doctor’s called it ‘mirasmus’
 Meaning ‘lack of resistance,
a
passivity!
Absence of Motivation
38% of the POW’s death rate –
highest in any camp –
died because they gave up
ULITMATE WEAPON
Deny men the
emotional support
that comes from
interpersonal
relationships
Four Tactics
1. Informing
2. Self-criticism
3. Breaking loyalty to leadership and
country
4. Withholding all positive emotional
support
Into a kind of
emotional and
psychological
isolation!
Studied the flip side
 If people can be literally
destroyed by unrelenting
negative reinforcement, can
they be uplifted and inspired
to a greater degree by similar
levels of positive
reinforcement!
Organizations give
recognition & praise
 Increase their individual productivity
 Increase engagement among their colleagues
 Are more likely to stay with their organization
 Receive higher loyalty and satisfaction scores from
customers
 Have better safety records and fewer accidents on
the job
Studies show that organizational
leaders who share positive
emotions have workgroups with
positive mood, enhanced job
satisfaction, greater engagement,
and improved group performance.
Working in bucket dipping
environment  Boss-induced hypertension
 Highly contagious
 One or two people can poison an entire workplace
 Lower customer satisfaction
 Scare off customers
 One negative employee can damage business
What does this mean
for education?
 1925 Study
 First group – identified by name and praised in front
of the class for their good work.
 Second group – identified by name, but criticized in
front of the class for poor work
 Third group – completely ignored, but present to hear
the others being praised and scolded
 Fourth (control) group – moved to another room
after the first test, but given no praise or criticism.
Negative emotions can be
harmful to your health and
might even shorten your
life span!
Increasing
positive
emotions could
lengthen life
span
by 10 years!
Magic Ratio
5 POSITIVE
INTERACTIONS
FOR EVERY
1 NEGATIVE
INTERACTION
MUST BE
Meaningful
&
Specific
Praise
THE FIVE STRATEGIES
1. Prevent Bucket Dipping
2. Shine a Light on What Is Right
3. Make Best Friends
4. Give Unexpectedly
5. Live by the Golden Rule
Elton High School
A BUCKET FILLING
SCHOOL
BUCKET FILLING
Creates positive energy
Reduces negativity
Decreases self-centeredness
Increases kindness
Spreads compassion
Grows resiliency
Three Concepts to Remember
 Be a Bucket Filler
 Show kindness and respect to others and yourself.
 Don’t Dip
 Don’t criticize, hurt, put-down, or bully others.
 Use Your Lid
 Protect the good thoughts and feeling inside your
bucket and the buckets of others.
Nominate a Bucketfiller