The International Schools Review Forum

Having been a member of ISR for around two years, I have read many, many school reviews. I never fail to be amazed at the sheer number of educators who cannot spell the word 'morale'!

I have lost count of the number of reviews I have read which say things like: [i] staff moral in the secondary school is really low; this is starting to affect staff moral; or the moral in the primary school is going down. [/i]

It is driving me mad, and it instantly makes me question how much store I can set by a poster's opinion if they can't spell. These are teachers after all!

So, anyone who's planning to write a review of their school, please, please, please learn to spell morale!

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Maybe all those posters really did mean ¨moral.¨ I would avoid any school where the teachers have both low morale and low morals.

But seriously, I understand your point. It really doesn´t speak well for professional educators who can´t be bothered to proofread their work before submitting.

And Ichiro, the use of ¨they¨ as a singular, gender-neutral pronoun is acceptable usage. Even the Oxford Dictionary folks concede that point. I know, it bothers me too, somewhat, but hey, who am I to argue with the OED??

It may be acceptable; but, it is still incorrect.

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It is accepted and has been for years.

The point is that if you want to be taken seriously, you should at least be spelling correctly.

I totally agree with the original poster. When someone can't spell correctly or get the basic grammar correct, I seriously question the validity of the posting.

Its not what she says -- its the way she says it

I am sure she would be a joyful addition to any staff breakroom

:wink:

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ichiro, haven't you got anything better to do?

If I wrote, "how much store can I set by a poster's opinion if he or she can't spell the word morale?" would that be better? Do you seriously think that in an informal forum posting, 'he or she' sounds better than 'they'? And does it really matter?

The original point was that 'morale' would be the most frequently misspelled word in ISR postings. You only have to read a couple of reviews to see that. When you read a lot of reviews and see the same word misspelled over and over, it becomes frustrating. But clearly you don't have a problem with spelling mistakes, only with antiquated grammar differences of opinion.

And incidentally, this is from www.oxforddictionaries.com:

•You can use the plural pronouns ‘they’, ‘them’, ‘their’ etc., despite the fact that, technically, they are referring back to a singular noun:
If your child is thinking about a gap year, they can get good advice from this website.
A researcher has to be completely objective in their findings.

Some people object to the use of plural pronouns in this type of situation on the grounds that it’s ungrammatical. In fact, the use of plural pronouns to refer back to a singular subject isn’t new: it represents a revival of a practice dating from the 16th century. It’s increasingly common in current English and is now widely accepted both in speech and in writing.

Yes; accepted by people who can't spell "morale" in the first place. The level of spelling and grammar expressed by so called professionals in these forums is fairly appalling: The products of a "modern" educational system where "near enough is good enough".

You people all have way too much time on your hands.

Try getting a job.

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[quote] ichiro By whom? And it what realm? [/quote]

1. See aussiechick's latest reply.

2. The English language is not regulated by a single body (like say Spanish is by the Real Academia). So, when self proclaimed (and universally respected) experts such as the Oxford English Dictionary or Merriam-Webster say it's widely done and accepted, then I would say that it's cool.

I would also like to note that many posters mix up principal (the person) and principle (the attitude) ... it is driving me nuts.

Thanks! :)