“I stare at her. ‘You mean the Unteachables?’ Dr. Thaddeus bristles. ‘We don’t use that term.’ ‘Every teacher in this building knows what they are,’ I fire back. ‘They’re the kids you’ve given up on. They had their chance in sixth and seventh grade, and now you’re just warehousing them until they can be the high school’s problem.’”

When Mr. Kermit learns he will be teaching room 117, we learn about the Unteachables—trouble kids that the administration has shoved aside until they can be rid of them next year. Dr. Thaddeus’s reaction to Mr. Kermit calling the class unteachable exemplifies the school’s double standard. Everyone knows why the kids are in that room, but teachers are okay with it as long as no one says it aloud.

“‘Parker,’ she urges, ‘this is stupid. You can get help with this. You just have to tell the teacher. But nobody can help you if they don’t know there’s a problem!’”

Kiana tells Parker to ask for help when he is struggling to read the day’s worksheet. This is the difference between kids whom teachers have treated well and those whom teachers have treated poorly: Having always been in regular classes and done well in school, Kiana believes in asking for help to fix problems. By contrast, Parker has been belittled for his reading struggles and doesn’t want to ask for help—he fears more ridicule.

“‘Well, he’s making a lot of noise in the hall,’ Miss Fountain announces. ‘That’s not being a bucket-filler.’ Mr. Kermit goggles. ‘A what?’ ‘A bucket-filler is someone loving and caring, who fills other people’s invisible buckets with good wishes and positive reinforcement that make them feel special.’ She regards Aldo disapprovingly. ‘Someone who creates a disturbance and makes it impossible for other children to learn is not a bucket-filler. That’s a bucket-dipper.’”

Ms. Fountain’s first appearance in the story follows Aldo’s tantrum in the hallway. Her bucket-filler/dipper explanation comes from Have You Filled a Bucket Today by Carol McCloud, a picture book based on the ideas of American psychologist Donald O. Clifton. Clifton’s theory says everyone has an invisible bucket that constantly fills or empties depending on how we are treated and how we treat others.