I'm a minion.

I admit it.

Minions willingly do the bidding of others.

I'm a minion.



But.......

Am I a good minion?

Getting to be less and less 'good' as the years tick by.

Another teacher and I were talking the other day and we came to the conclusion that we are getting old. When we first started teaching, we were go-to girls. "Sure, I'll do that!" "That sounds like fun!" But as time has gone by, while we've continued to say yes, even if not as often, but we've become more disgruntled about the process, and the feelings that maybe our eagerness to say yes should be rewarded with a bit more appreciation and acknowledgement.

I think as young teachers, we come in excited and determined to do 'what's best for kids' and are willing to overlook the unpaid part of tasks shoveled down the pike to the minions. But as time goes by, you still are willing to tackle projects that snag your interest, but the reality that that willingness to say yes tends to bite you in the butt becomes apparent. The unappreciation and expectation that you will just automatically step up and take care of things takes its toll on your enthusiasm.

Minion-hood becomes a burden.

Is there a way to make the burden lighter???

• true acknowledgement of effort is free - an honest thank you for all your hard work goes a long way
• little perks, monetary(OK, maybe unrealistic in today's educational financial crisis) or otherwise.... a box of doughnuts at a staff meeting or pizza in the lounge on Friday can soothe a lot of ruffled feathers..... an extra comp hour or 2 for extra effort.... just some little bone tossed your way can make all the difference
• a say in how things are done- not just on the surface "what do you think"but an honest to goodness chance to initiate and mantain change within the school

In the good old days, new teachers were being hired regularly so the minion supply was constantly being replenished, but these days, when layoffs are more common than new hires, the new minons aren't coming to replace the burnt out ones. What's going to happen when all the minions give up the fight??