British government spells end of 'i before e' rule

[sg1efc]

British government spells end of 'i before e' rule
Sat Jun 20, 9:20 pm ET

LONDON – It's a spelling mantra that generations of schoolchildren have learned — "i before e, except after c."

But new British government guidance tells teachers not to pass on the rule to students, because there are too many exceptions.

The "Support For Spelling" document, which is being sent to thousands of primary schools, says the rule "is not worth teaching" because it doesn't account for words like 'sufficient,' 'veil' and 'their.'

Jack Bovill of the Spelling Society, which advocates simplified spelling, said Saturday he agreed with the decision.

But supporters say the ditty has value because it is one of the few language rules that most people remember.
British government spells end of 'i before e' rule - Yahoo! News
----------------------------------------------------------------
Should the USA and other countries also do this? What about spell-checkers? They might crash peoples' computers when they encounter an "e" before "i"...?
As if the "i" before "e" rule wasn't confusing enough.....