We all seem to have our own opinions about what we want from schools, where the emphases should be placed, what constitutes an effective teacher, and on and on. Just as we will find too many ho-hum teachers along with the few gems, teachers will find far more ho-hum students than the few memorable ones. With long experience as both a teacher and a parent, I've found myself on both sides of the issue. I taught English, so naturally I have a bias in the direction of accuracy in spelling and grammar. I've been known to trash multiple copies of a parent memo, having noted a misplaced comma. On the other hand, even Alex Trebek allows spelling errors in Final Jeopardy answers.
I would wince at seeing teachers in other subject areas accept sub-literate papers from students. However, as the parent of a dyslexic child I witnessed first-hand the frustration that many students experience. I was led to believe that my third-grade son was likely to be "slow" academically throughout his remaining school years. Ultimately, thanks to a combination of Ritalin, a computer equipped with Spellcheck, and fierce determination, he made it through college summa cum laude and has done just fine in his career in journalism. I'm left wondering if, as a teacher, I might have placed too much emphasis on the minutiae of written communication. It's a tough call.