When we were at school and we didn't know how to spell a word, why were we told to look in the dictionary?

How can you find a word if you don't know how to spell it?When we were at school and we didn't know how to spell a word, why were we told to look in the dictionary?
My guess, and it is only a guess, would be that either it is a form of proactive learning, as opposed to passive learning or teachers have always been secretly slave drivers? = P



Although to be honest, I really can't remember my school days, I must be getting old!When we were at school and we didn't know how to spell a word, why were we told to look in the dictionary?
we now use the internet, even if you misspell the word, the search engines always ask if you meant a certain correctly spelled word derived from the letters you typed in, usually pointing the word you ARE searching. i'm just stating the apparent.