I work in public education and imo, the biggest problems with education today:
unrealistic mandates
the flood of liberal attitudes in education(don't want little johnny's self esteem to be harmed)
parents who have lost any and all clue they might have had about what is fair and reasonable expectations of schools and/or teachers.
For every teacher these days who might nail a kid for their spelling, there will be 5 parents crying about "oh just give my kid another chance" or "well, you know what word they were trying to spell so what's the big deal."
TRUST ME, deal with a few insane parents and you would know exactly what I am talking about.
For those who think it is "cool" to not know how to spell, your future employers won't find it so cool when you can't spell the easiest words on a job application.