Family literacy: Respecting family ways. ERIC Digest 203. ERIC

Throughout history, the family has been the primary source for learn-ing. Before the advent of schools, children were taught at home by their parents, older siblings, grandparents, and/or other relatives. With the introduction of formal schooling, the teaching of values, cultural practices, and skills such as cooking, sewing, farming, and trapping continued to originate in the home. Today, in spite of the vast public and private educational systems, some parents are choos-ing to teach their children at home, confident in their belief that teaching in the context of family is the best way to ensure the learn-ing the desire. Public agencies, such as the National Center for Family Literacy, and private foundations, such as the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy, have shown their support of the family as a pri-mary place of learning by funding programs that provide training and assistance to families for the promotion of literacy. This Diges