“We’re your dumb class.” The confusion crossed my face like rain in Summer, it started slowly then covered everything. “Yeah. We’re all the stupid ones that didn’t do well on that test.” When I started teaching English to college freshmen, no one told me that I would be teaching classes to students who scored too low on the State English test. Or that we had convinced them they were all stupid because they missed a question or two.

I (Professor Brandt, founder) refuse to believe that uneducated is the same as stupid. You are not stupid; you are untrained. You are not incapable; you are part of a system that is increasingly telling you the things you care about in life are unimportant. You are not a number on a page, or a date on a calendar, or incapable because the things you love most don't pay. I'm a writer (low paying job) and a teacher (even lower ☹️). Trust me on this one; pay does not equal worth.

50% of U.S. adults claim to read at or below an 8th grade reading level. And think about it, right before we enter high school is when the conversation about reading and writing and imagination change. Suddenly everything is either Shakespeare or research papers. Those things have their place, but so does Twilight and comic books and comedy. Why weren't we allowed to read George Carlin in English class? Is Dracula the only way to tell a vampire story?

We can help educate adults by making adult education just as accessible and fun as it was when you were a child. But first we need to admit something first. We have rewritten this campaign proposal countless times. And right here is the point at which the rewrite happens the most often. Because it is at this point in every draft, when it's time to ask for help, that we turn into every other nonprofit you've ever heard of.

We talk about the writing video games for adults we plan to make. And the free book on scholarship essay writing we already wrote (SummerScribe.com). And all the things you can find on our websites (InkShieldinitiative.com, Summerscribe.com). And then it becomes a standard sales pitch. We turn into ChatGPT begging for money.

And we don't want to do that. Of course we need funds. But what we really need is an editor. We need you to look at the page and decide how to rearrange the words so the story has a better ending. We're trying to do our part. Now it's your turn to pick up the pen.

Bad Knees and "Bad" Books

Adult literacy with Attitude

Team Members