Gmail in the classroom

Our school used Gmail.  I have seen the transition from just Gmail to Google Classroom.  I think using any tool like this in the classroom is really dependent on kids checking their email.  Then you have to ask - do we allocate classtime for students to check their email at school?  Why does going to secondary school feel like an office job?  Probably because we are doing everything by email.  I'm watching the tutorials in the AEA course.  They say things like "Increase your productivity" so by teaching kids these skills are we just weeding out the kids who don't want to work at school like they are already in their first job.  Is that what school even is?  I used to use contact groups for Yearbook and for a Board Game club that I had.  I preferred this over Google Classroom.  Although I will say that students are sometimes unaware of their inbox.  They are not adults, and not yet attached to it.  Should they be?  I think my favorite thing about Gmail in the classroom is when a student will contact me out of the blue with something they found online that reminds them of my class, or to share something that they have discovered.