ABSTRACT
From my experiences as a teacher and principal and in my current work in family literacy as a teacher educator and researcher, I have learned that many parents and family members, not unlike the teachers I work with, lack confidence in their abilities to write well. They likely experienced writing instruction in school that emphasized product, not process, and often viewed spelling accuracy and correct grammar as the main indicators of writing well. Many recalled the days of writing assignments returned with red marks riddled throughout as evidence of their writing ineptitude. As a result, many did not see themselves as writers, nor were they confident supporting their children with writing in the current climate of an outcomes-based, one-size-fits-all writing curriculum. Teachers, like parents, saw writing as highly restricted and formalized.
