I just retired, worked as an aid in an elementary school. The new reading program they implemented a few years ago does not include writing. The students are no longer taught to print/write the alphabet, no writing practice, ever. It is thought that cursive writing may fall to the wayside, no longer necessary with the ability to type everything out on a keyboard. Students don’t sit alone in rows but are grouped together in clusters of four desks. When questions are posed, the procedure to follow is, think of the answer yourself first, then pair with your partner next to you to discuss it, then share with the group of four. The emphasis is on working as a team. Writing paragraph answers to questions does not require proper spelling, phonetical is accepted.
I have seen many school notes and memos go home with misspellings and improper grammar. Cut backs in staff leave everyone so overworked, they are often too rushed to make spelling corrections; it is low on their priority list. If you grasp the content even though there are errors, it’s good enough.
I love the properly spelled word, and the properly spoken word as well (anyone notice how often these days you hear people adding an H to the STR sound? As in “shtrong” for strong or “shtream” for stream? But I digress…).
In the end, proper spelling doesn’t get you a job when you graduate high school. Does a lawyer, electrician, mechanic need to use proper spelling to be successful? I’m not sure they do.