1. The right to express yourself in first-draft writing regardless of what words you do and don't know how to spell

One of the greatest misconceptions about invented spelling is that it means that spelling doesn't matter, that we tell chil­dren to spell words "any old way" every time they write, and that this is the sum total of what the new spelling is all about. Nothing could be further from the truth: invented spelling is a starting point, not a stopping point. But it's a crucial starting point and an essential component of the reality that spelling is part of the writing process. Everyone can presumably agree that what children write about should be determined by their interests rather than the words they know how to spell; we want first graders to be able to write about porcupines and pterodactyls, not just cats and dogs, and we want all fifth graders to share their thoughts about democracy and Bosnia, not just the ones who know how to spell the words. Invented spelling, seen in this context, is merely a tool for facilitating such self­expression. It's a way of quickly getting your ideas down; without invented spelling, writers would have to either limit what they say or distract themselves from the thinking process by taking the time to look words up.