# Was this okay? Bad spelling Principal related **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 16, 2012, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-this-okay-bad-spelling-principal-related/637904 "2012-10-16T17:00:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Caricci](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/85f322/32.png) [@Caricci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caricci)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2012, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-this-okay-bad-spelling-principal-related/637904/1 "2012-10-16T17:00:14Z")
Last week my son’s principal sent out a mass e-mail to let us all know about the lady who helps the kids with substance abuse problems. He referred to her as the Councilor. I replied “It’s ‘counselor’.” I didn’t reply all, or anything. Was this okay? Would you have done it? ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2012, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-this-okay-bad-spelling-principal-related/637904/2 "2012-10-16T17:33:56Z")
> [@Caricci](#): > > Last week my son’s principal sent out a mass e-mail to let us all know about the lady who helps the kids with substance abuse problems. He referred to her as the Councilor. I replied “It’s ‘counselor’.” I didn’t reply all, or anything. > > Was this okay? Would you have done it? Depending on my mood, I might have “replied all” and made an editorial statement about our education system. But that’s me. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2012, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-this-okay-bad-spelling-principal-related/637904/3 "2012-10-16T17:36:31Z")
It depends on how nasty I’m feeling. When I was in high school, if teachers I didn’t like passed out notes to take home, I’d correct them with a red pen as soon as they handed it to me. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2012, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-this-okay-bad-spelling-principal-related/637904/4 "2012-10-16T17:41:33Z")
> [@Caricci](#): > > Last week my son’s principal sent out a mass e-mail to let us all know about the lady who helps the kids with substance abuse problems. He referred to her as the Councilor. I replied “It’s ‘counselor’.” I didn’t reply all, or anything. > > Was this okay? Would you have done it? Outside of SDMB, pedantry is frowned upon in most places. That said, anyone in a position of authority at a school is a role model for the kids in their charge, whether they like it or not; I think it’s fair to ask that they set a good example, as long as the request is delivered courteously, e.g. don’t “reply to all” (as tempting as that may be), don’t cast aspersions on the school system, etc. Just mention the importance of having them set a good example, and ask that in the future they take care to ensure, to the best of their ability, that their written messages follow the established rules for whatever language they are using. [sub](as we are in fact on the SDMB here, I fully expect that someone will arrive shortly to shitpick the above paragraph and point out five or six errors.)[/sub] ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2012, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-this-okay-bad-spelling-principal-related/637904/5 "2012-10-16T17:44:46Z")
> [@Caricci](#): > > Last week my son’s principal sent out a mass e-mail to let us all know about the lady who helps the kids with substance abuse problems. He referred to her as the Councilor. I replied “It’s ‘counselor’.” I didn’t reply all, or anything. > > Was this okay? Would you have done it? I just checked the OED, and it lists “councilor” as a variant spelling of “councillor,” meaning a member of a council. Admittedly the principal had a different meaning in mine, and you are correct that he or she used the wrong word, but I would still say that your correction was dickish. ---
**Author:** ![Sahirrnee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sahirrnee/32/13937_2.png) [@Sahirrnee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sahirrnee)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2012, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-this-okay-bad-spelling-principal-related/637904/6 "2012-10-16T17:45:12Z")
I would try to do it but ever since the ‘incident’ in his freshman year (the school ‘lost’ my son) my son doesn’t allow me to communicate with anybody at his school unless he proofs it first. ---
**Author:** ![Caricci](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/85f322/32.png) [@Caricci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caricci)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2012, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-this-okay-bad-spelling-principal-related/637904/7 "2012-10-16T17:48:40Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > I just checked the OED, and it lists “councilor” as a variant spelling of “councillor,” meaning a member of a council. Admittedly the principal had a different meaning in mine, and you are correct that he or she used the wrong word, but I would still say that your correction was dickish. Then I won’t mention that he had a different meaning in mind, not mine. 🙂 So, anyway, yeah, it wasn’t so much a misspelling as using the wrong word. I like to think I wouldn’t have done it if this wasn’t the principal of a school though. ---
**Author:** ![MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MPB_in_Salt_Lake)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2012, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-this-okay-bad-spelling-principal-related/637904/8 "2012-10-16T17:49:28Z")
> [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > [sub](as we are in fact on the SDMB here, I fully expect that someone will arrive shortly to shitpick the above paragraph and point out five or six errors.)[/sub] This being the SDMB, I am expecting 20 different Dopers to race in here and tell us all how their (slightly autistic, transgendered and/or militant atheist) 18-month old toddler was appalled at the exceedingly long run-on sentence you ended your paragraph with. ---
**Author:** ![phouka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c5a1d2/32.png) [@phouka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phouka)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2012, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-this-okay-bad-spelling-principal-related/637904/9 "2012-10-16T17:51:25Z")
> [@Caricci](#): > > Last week my son’s principal sent out a mass e-mail to let us all know about the lady who helps the kids with substance abuse problems. He referred to her as the Councilor. I replied “It’s ‘counselor’.” I didn’t reply all, or anything. > > Was this okay? Would you have done it? No. I’d have been tempted. I’d have been annoyed. I might have ranted to someone. But I wouldn’t have answered back. He made a small, meaningless error. The information he imparted was not muddled. He can’t go back and fix it. He probably knows the difference between counselor and councilor just fine, and it happened that his brain thought one thing while his fingers typed another. The only reason to reply with a correction of that sort is to make the other person feel bad, and what exactly is that going to accomplish? We need to have some tolerance for others’ foibles if we expect tolerance of our own. ---
**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2012, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-this-okay-bad-spelling-principal-related/637904/10 "2012-10-16T17:52:04Z")
Was “It’s ‘counselor’.” the entirety of your e-mail? If so, that was a bit rude, or at least terse. I might have prefaced with something like, “Since it’s in all our best interests to set a good example, I feel I should point out…” blah blah blah… But no, nothing wrong with correcting him; the man is supposed to be in charge of educating your children, after all. ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2012, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-this-okay-bad-spelling-principal-related/637904/11 "2012-10-16T18:19:40Z")
What were you hoping to achieve? If it was just to feel better about yourself because spelling errors annoy you, you’d be better of managing your emotions in more constructive ways. If you have some real intention to help the principal do his job better and you did it in a way that reflects that, you might get a pass. If you are helping out, you’d say something like “I appreciate the note you sent out the other day. It’s always helpful to know what services my son’s school offers. I know you probably caught this, but I saw that you spelled “counselor” as “councilor” throughout the note. Even spellcheck can get the best of us sometimes! Thank you again for the note, and I’m looking forward to speaking with you at the Open House next week.” Sending a one liner, or a correction without any other content is rude in any situation, and a pretty good sign that your correction stems from your own ego than from a genuine desire to help others. ---
**Author:** ![Missy2U](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3bc359/32.png) [@Missy2U](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Missy2U)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2012, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-this-okay-bad-spelling-principal-related/637904/12 "2012-10-16T18:49:10Z")
> [@Caricci](#): > > Last week my son’s principal sent out a mass e-mail to let us all know about the lady who helps the kids with substance abuse problems. He referred to her as the Councilor. I replied “It’s ‘counselor’.” I didn’t reply all, or anything. > > Was this okay? Would you have done it? No, absolutely not. It was completely rude and unnecessary. What, exactly, did you hope to accomplish other than him feeling foolish? Miss Manners would not have approved. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2012, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-this-okay-bad-spelling-principal-related/637904/13 "2012-10-16T18:57:01Z")
> [@Wheelz](#): > > Was “It’s ‘counselor’.” the entirety of your e-mail? If so, that was a bit rude, or at least terse. > > I might have prefaced with something like, “Since it’s in all our best interests to set a good example, I feel I should point out…” blah blah blah… > > But no, nothing wrong with correcting him; the man is supposed to be in charge of educating your children, after all. I think this. I e-mailed a former employer (a community college) once to alert them about a typo/misspelled word in a permanent announcement on their home page. They thanked me. Why let them continue to be embarrassed? ---
**Author:** ![Caricci](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/85f322/32.png) [@Caricci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caricci)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2012, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-this-okay-bad-spelling-principal-related/637904/14 "2012-10-16T18:59:12Z")
I felt lecturing him would be worse particularly since he’s new to the job. But I also felt leaving alone wasn’t a great option because of his role. ---
**Author:** ![Caricci](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/85f322/32.png) [@Caricci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caricci)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2012, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-this-okay-bad-spelling-principal-related/637904/15 "2012-10-16T19:00:19Z")
> [@MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](#): > > This being the SDMB, I am expecting 20 different Dopers to race in here and tell us all how their (slightly autistic, transgendered and/or militant atheist) 18-month old toddler was appalled at the exceedingly long run-on sentence you ended your paragraph with. LOL! And it’s “with which you ended your paragraph.”🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2012, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-this-okay-bad-spelling-principal-related/637904/16 "2012-10-16T19:00:46Z")
So when I was in the 8th grade my English teacher sent a note home. My mother (A former English teacher) read it, got out her red pen and corrected the spelling, grammar, and sentence structure. She then added comments and had me take it back. My teacher never sent another note home. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/96bed5/32.png) [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patty_O_Furniture)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2012, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-this-okay-bad-spelling-principal-related/637904/17 "2012-10-16T19:01:51Z")
I’m more surprised that he sent out a mass email without putting the distribution list in the bcc. To me, that’s a bigger goof. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2012, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-this-okay-bad-spelling-principal-related/637904/18 "2012-10-16T19:14:21Z")
> [@MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](#): > > This being the SDMB, I am expecting 20 different Dopers to race in here and tell us all how their (slightly autistic, transgendered and/or militant atheist) 18-month old toddler was appalled at the exceedingly long run-on sentence you ended your paragraph with. No. Those autistic transgendered toddlers can probably distinguish a sentence that just just happens to contain a conjunction and some subordinate clauses from a “run on” sentence. And forty-two words is “exceedingly long”? Srusly? ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2012, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-this-okay-bad-spelling-principal-related/637904/19 "2012-10-16T19:20:27Z")
> [@AuntiePam](#): > > I think this. I e-mailed a former employer (a community college) once to alert them about a typo/misspelled word in a permanent announcement on their home page. They thanked me. Why let them continue to be embarrassed? This is a completely different situation. In your case, the typo would persist until it was corrected, and so it is helpful to alert them to the mistake. With an email, the email was probably in people’s trash before the correction was even received, and there is nothing he could realistically do to fix the issue. All you can really do at this point is make him feel bad. ---
**Author:** ![MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MPB_in_Salt_Lake)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2012, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-this-okay-bad-spelling-principal-related/637904/20 "2012-10-16T19:25:39Z")
> [@njtt](#): > > Srusly? no u [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-this-okay-bad-spelling-principal-related/637904.md?page=2)