Can I Check My E-Mail?

One of my first weeks here, a kid noticed my lap top and asked if he could check his email. I didn't think much of it and said yes. Little did I know that I had just stepped onto a slippery slope. Before I knew it, everyone and their brother were asking me to check their email. I quickly learned to set boundaries. There is a place and a time...and it's always conditional. The place is on the stairs below my room where we can usually catch a wireless signal. The time is 6pm, a half hour before dinner (it needs to be finite). Once the bell rings for dinner, e-mail time is over. It's always conditional because I hate to disappoint them if something at work runs late or another responsibility pops up. It's not uncommon to pass a kid during the day and they'll just say, "Tonight at 6?", to which my response is always, "We'll see."

As you can see from the picture a crowd develops once the lap top pops up...it's my most popular moment of the day. The kids sit behind eachother and critique eachother's spelling and typing speed as they hunt and peck away. They have great email addresses like, akon_silmshadypunk@hotmail.com or blinkmiguel_182@hotmail.com. The funny thing too is that most of their messages are forwards from a crazy aunt or spam mail. But I guess in this day and age checking your email is a sort of rite of passage, there's some sort of importance in having to do the act itself.