Jermane's E-mail

" Who's Robert Caldwell?" Jermane looked up from the computer he was using, minutes after I had helped him save the first draft of his essay. He had turned over a new leaf and was approaching assignments with a whole new level of dedication.

"He's the superintendent, Jermane. Why do you want to know." I asked as I finished saving the next student's work. It had been a good day at the alternative school.

"I just sent him an e-mail that says 'Eat my b----.' , Oops." Jermane seemed surprised at himself.

"Jermane, what account did you use to send that?" I quickly checked the computer to see that my account was not left open. It wasn't. The password was secure. I explained that this was a very serious issue and must be dealt with if it had indeed happened. (Months earlier another student had hacked into my e-mail and sent the entire staff an e-mail that said f. u. Alarmed and embarrassed, I had managed to convince them that it stood for follow up. My principal advised me to keep a closer eye on the kids at the computer.)

Jermane immediately went into denial mode. That is exactly how I would expect him to act if he was worried about punishment. Not knowing if the message had actually been sent or not, I reported it to the principal immediately, then advised Jermane to beg for mercy as soon as his deed would be exposed. He laughed, nervously, I thought. (But what is nervous for a junior gang member like Jermane?)

At the end of the day, the principal sent me a copy of her exchange with the superintendent. She had indeed contacted Mr. Caldwell. Had he received any unusual or inappropriate e-mail? We had reason to believe that an improper message may have originated from our school. No, he had said, all was normal. What was the message? The principal had replied with the exact wording. Hmm, he had counter replied. Nothing like that had come to him..

You just have to laugh.