Of course, nobody ever wants to change something that they have got used to. Change makes us uncomfortable. English spelling has changed only very slowly in the last 200 years.
But right now we must change. It's a matter of national survival. English- speaking countries can no longer afford to teach their children the old, illogical, frustrating way to spell. Children in countries with logical, consistent spelling systems that are based on the sounds of the words have a head-start on English-speaking children.
In the United Kingdom, Canada, U.S.A., Australia, New Zealand and South Africa about 40 million young children every day are spending about twice as much time learning to read and write as is necessary.
The loss in unnecessary teachers' time, and children’s effort, is gigantic. And yet the literary standards of children remain unacceptably low. Studies in several countries have shown recently that approximately 30% of fourteen- year-olds cannot read or write well enough to be able to carry out the day-to- day functions of modern living.
The experience of the “Initial Teaching Alphabet” project in England has shown that a logical, consistent spelling system can overcome literacy problems in spectacular fashion. A change to such a system is now essential.
We must all accept the fact that a better way to spell would be good for our children and good for our society.
So the next time we are writing a note to say "I'll be late home to-night", let us take the effort to write 'nite' instead of 'night'. That way we will be showing the lead towards a better, more productive future - and demonstrating our faith in the possibility of a better learning environment for our children and our children's children.
'Night' is a bad way to spell. 'Nite' is a good way.
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