I agree wholeheartedly. I credit a stupid hand-out sent home by my oldest daughter’s 2nd grade teacher in Berkeley, CA which maligned (in my opinion) the record and character of George Washington. This has to be more than 50 years ago. The paper, which had a picture for my child to color, said (among other negative things) that George Washington was uneducated and couldn’t spell.
The next day was Washington’s Birthday, and the kids were off school so I dragged all 4 down to the book store and bought several books about Washington and a cute little wooden rocking horse depicting Washington astride for the youngest.
The next day, I marched into school to have it out with the teacher. I got nowhere, of course and she smugly dismissed me by saying, “Isn’t it great that it got you to go to a book store.” That set me on a life long course of supporting challengers to school boards and city councils and general political activism.
If you’ve ever visited Mt. Vernon you cannot help but be impressed with Washington’s education, ability, and management style. To say he “couldn’t spell” ignores the fact that there was no standardized spelling in the 1700s.
Grateful that Washington was a champion of our war for Independence and our early Republic, rather than a spelling bee champion.