Maybe you simply forgot the rest of it.  "I before E except after C, or sounded as A as in neighbor or weigh."

I ran across an exception to that recenty - and forgot it, of course!  Do you have a list of exceptions to the "rule"?

If being literate and grammatically correct were requirements, most of us just as well stay away.  It is sad what passes for a formal education; hopefully the information presented here will help get us through life inspite of our shortcomings.