The word is out that the British government is suggesting that teachers not teach the "i before e, except after c" rule because there are too many exceptions to it. They say the rule "is not worth teaching" because it doesn't cover words like sufficient, veil, and their.
Lord knows that we don't need to have rules of thumb that there are exceptions to. I mean, what good does it do to have a rule of thumb that will help kids spell most of the words correctly if it won't help them with a few exceptions. Now, maybe it'll be easier for them to teach kids to spell other words like wierd, nieghbor, and mischievous... (Or is it mischievious?)
Lord knows that we don't need to have rules of thumb that there are exceptions to. I mean, what good does it do to have a rule of thumb that will help kids spell most of the words correctly if it won't help them with a few exceptions. Now, maybe it'll be easier for them to teach kids to spell other words like wierd, nieghbor, and mischievous... (Or is it mischievious?)