"You know what kept me up last night?" a reader
we're calling Goldie asks in an email recently. "Trying to decide what, if
anything, to say to the principal of my child's school about her emails."
According to Goldie, who does editorial work for a
living, the principal's frequent notes contain at least one and usually several
grammatical errors. The emails contain run-on sentences, improper
capitalization of words, misplaced commas, and an abundance of misused
semi-colons.
"Sometimes there are factual errors," writes
Goldie, "like the time she sent a note reminding parents to get their kids
to school by 8:20, when school actually starts at 8:15."
"I kind of want to send a note and volunteer to be a
second set of eyes for her emails," writes Goldie, "but we're at the
beginning of a six-year relationship with the school. I'm not sure I want to be
'that" parent!"
Goldie is torn about the right thing to do.
In the past, I've received similar emails from readers
asking about whether to correct a colleague or a supervisor whose grammar is
consistently off. When faced with these questions, I'm always reminded of the
college librarian I knew who was crushed after a student corrected her
pronunciation of English words. The correction hadn't crushed her. The fact
that she had been pronouncing words incorrectly for years and never once had it
pointed out to her by anything at the college or among friends was what crushed
her. The librarian believed had they cared enough about her they would have
said something.
For similar reasons, Goldie would be doing the right
thing and the principal a favor if she found a way to let her know that her
emails contain substantial errors. That she's the principal of a school where
such things as grammar and usage are taught makes it even more likely that
she'd be embarrassed if she discovered that she'd be sending out emails plagued
with errors without ever having it called to her attention.
If the principal is wise, she'll be appreciative of
Goldie's observations. If the world works as it has a way of doing, Goldie
might find herself being enlisted as a volunteer proofreader, a role she's more
than willing to take on.
Finding a way to offer assistance gracefully is the key.
Rather than send an angry response to an email in which all the errors are
marked up and a note to the tune of "how could you send this crap
out?" attached is not likely to yield positive results.
But an email from Goldie to the principal acknowledging
that she knows how frequently and quickly the principal needs to email parents
along with an offer of a professional editor's help if she wants it might be
met with favor.
There is a chance that the principal will not take kindly
to Goldie's observation or offer of help. But Goldie's desire to do the right
thing shouldn't be diminished by her concern that it might not change anything.
It's rare we can know for certain the response our actions will receive.
Nevertheless, we persist to try to help make things work a bit better.
Jeffrey L. Seglin, author of The Simple Art of Business Etiquette: How to Rise to the Top by Playing Nice, is a senior lecturer in public policy and director of the communications program at Harvard's Kennedy School. He is also the administrator of www.jeffreyseglin.com, a blog focused on ethical issues.
Do you have ethical questions that you need answered? Send them to rightthing@comcast.net.
Follow him on Twitter: @jseglin
(c) 2018 JEFFREY L. SEGLIN. DISTRIBUTED BY TRIBUNE CONTENT AGENCY, LLC.
