---

How Full Is Your Bucket

4/5/6

Chapter 4 tells the story of how the co-author was nurtured with positive support at home.  He had/has medical problems that would have been much worse if his attitude was negative.

Chapter 5 addresses recognition being authentic when it is individuaized, specific, and deserved.  A cookie cutter, one-size-fits-all approach to recognizing someone carries far less appreciation and effectiveness than authentic recognition.

Chapter 6 presents 5 strategies for increasing positive emotions and offers web site help to determine one's attitude. 

I took the online test and scored poorly.  Or rather said in positive terms--I have a lot of area to investigate so that I can be more positive.

I did not come away from reading this book with any new ideas to use in the classroom.  I know that positive reinforcement is very important in the school setting.  As with most self-help books, the author presents the need but offers little practical measures to change one's attitudes.

How Full Is Your Bucket?

3/22

This week's reading included chapters 2 and 3.  Most of the information dealt with the differences between negativity and positivity.  Ways in which positive people live longer and are more healthy.

Praise and recognition fill buckets and leads to productivity regardless of the work site.

Negativity costs in loss of productivity--$250-300 billion annually.  Sinks organizations.

Most of us don't praise enough.  We focus on the negative--"Why did you get the "F"?  We should emphasize tell me how did you get the "A."  The author presented a ration of 5 to 1 in marriage relations and 3 to 1 in the work place (positive to negative).

Clearly, positive strokes are needed in the school setting.  I assume the rest of the book outlines ways to do this.  Thus far, the book is a rehash of educational psychology without practical "how to" methods.  I'll wait and see what the rest of the book reveals.

How Full Is Your Bucket

3/15/06

The first week's reading included an introduction by Dr. Donald Clifton's grandson and co-author Tom Rath.  He recounts his grandfather's final days of life while transcribing information to include in the book.  Dr. Clifton's life work revolved around a field of psychology termed "positive psychology."  He studied the negative effects of Korean War POWs that simply gave up when faced with endless months of being ignored by their captors.  The POWs only received negative reports, letters, and were denied ALL positive emotional support.  He termed this "mirasmus."  As a result the North Korean's "Ultimate Weapon" was the denial of emotional support that comes from interpersonal relationships.  Dr. Clifton studied this effect and set out to study the opposite of negativity--his premise was to see if positivity has an even stronger impact than negativity.

With this as background, I expect to read on to understand ways to be more positive than negative.  I wager that by filling others' invisible buckets to the brim by using positive psychology will increase self-worth of the affected students in the class room.

Craft Lessons

2/22/06

This week's readings addressed 13 more writing lessons.  As I found when reading about the first second set and again in this set of readings, the author has compiled many examples and samples for us to try in the classroom.  I especially appreciated the contributing writers comments about "there is no right way" to teach writing.  Good writers learn by first becoming good readers.  It is in reading where one establishes a foundation to experiment with various writing methods.  This weeks readings addresses ways to emphasize setting, flashback, irony, symbolism, and circular ending so as to create interest in the story being written.  I have found myself pausing when the class has been reading The Golden Goblet to bring out points the author is making in her choice of words, change of scenes, internal monologue, etc.  I direct students to some of the colorful words and commented on ways to also use colorful wirds in personal writing.

Although not part of the assigned reading, the book's FAQ section contains interesting and helpful ways to implement some of the lessons.

I have enjoyed reading this book.  I plan to implement some of the lessons in future writing assigments this year.

Craft Lessons

2/14, pages 79-91

Interesting writing activities that have the purpose of engaging the writer deep into the writing process.  I see that "ownership" is key to being a good writer.  To this end each lesson addresses a specific writing need.  Each lesson includes literature and/or practical examples in the "how to" write process.  I gleaned ideas in ways to create a real life character with specific traits through the specific helps described in the appendixes.  Perhaps I'll be able to incorporate them in the weeks ahead.  I do see that the entire set of lessons could be sprinkled throughout the academic year beginning in August.  It appears that these lessons are arranged in that order.

Next page >>