I would say that we should take whatever tack is necessary to get the job done. If we Americans prefer 'meter' to 'metre' so be it. Let's get the switch over to metric completed, then the rest will follow.
Here's what I am working on hasten the metric only switch over in the US ( being initiated in conjunction with a campaign to swamp members of congress, the White House, school boards, teacher organizations, professional organizations, and businesses with letters and emails about switching to metric without the use of dual measurement systems in the instruction process): Metrication in the US - a grassroots effort A grassroots effort from the ground up may be the best way to get the job done though. I'm putting a plan together for that now. I'm in the very formative stages at this point. Any ideas on how to organize and implement such an endeavor would be greatly appreciated. The goal of the grassroots drive would be to put metric only measuring devices, posters, teaching aids, and learning activities in every US classroom in the K - 12 range as quickly as possible. Here are some of my initial thoughts on setting up a national grassroots 'ground up' drive for metrication of US classrooms (not in any particular specific order of importance): 1) identify a list of bulk producers, manufacturers, and suppliers of metric only with their respective products and pricing (for bulk purchases); 2) identify a list of foundations, businesses, NGO's, government bodies, individuals, etc., who would be willing to contribute funds and other resources, or who would be willing to buy bulk quantities of let's say metric rulers, or posters,or whatever, as long as it was 'metric only', for us to distribute to the schools in the country; 3) set up a mailing list of every school in the country; 4) set up the organization, its structure, and oversight body; 5) identify what is not available on the market from manufacturers, then locate who would be willing to make what is needed in those areas; 6) set up a website for the effort 7) whatever else needs to be done to get this effort completed in a specific period of time. Anyway, this is still in the early formative stages - in my mind essentially. What do you think? What are the advantages and disadvantages of such an effort? How would you do this, and would you be interested in helping? Is this potentially the better way to get the attention of local, state, and federal authorities? Tim Williamson On Fri, Jan 28, 2011 at 4:40 AM, Ron Stone <[email protected]> wrote: > Dear Gene, Pat, Jim, and All, > > many centuries of language development should not be ignored in the context > of the development of international standards of measurement. > > in the global world there are many languages and many more language > varieties. > > in the context of SI, there may no longer remain many 'foreign' units of > measurement. > > in the global world, who can really say what words or spellings are > familiar or not among a diverse global community? > > i say try to focus on values of metrication rather than a mere politicizing > of spelling. > > Cheers, > > Ron > > ps - i would have no problem spelling the SI unit of length (m) as either > meter or metre. i am unconvinced that regional spelling is a crucial > metrication issue. > > > > On Thu, Jan 27, 2011 at 9:34 AM, <[email protected]> wrote: > >> In [USMA:49615], Ron Stone asked "how does spelling relate to >> metrication" ? >> >> Answer: *Hostility* to metrication is aroused when familiar words are >> spelled in a way that suggests that *foreign* units of measurement are being >> imposed on the people of the Unites States of America. >> >> All of us here know that SI prescribes only symbols, not spellings. >> >> However, the false perception of many uninformed members of the public is >> that SI is foreign, and that metrication requires difficult *conversion" >> calculations. >> >> In reality SI is easy to learn and use. Only the *transition* to SI can >> sometimes be a temporary numerical burden. >> >> Gene Mechtly >> >> > > > -- > > -------------------- > Ron Stone > ------------------------- > disclaimers or other restrictions may apply to this message. > ------------------------------------ > > -- *Tim Williamson* *Alabama, USA* *1-205-765-6090*
