Written by Renita Pitts, Grandmother, Student, and Kurzweil 3000 User

My name is Renita Pitts. I was born on August 14, 1960 during the Civil Rights Movement which was a controversial time in America. I was enrolled into the Kansas City, MO public school system in 1965. My instructor hit me repeatedly in class on a regular basis. As a result of that conduct, I was extremely angry with my teachers and it was difficult for me to learn under those conditions, although I still loved going to school. Unfortunately, by the age of fifteen my life changed dramatically. I became a teen mother and a high school dropout. At twenty-five I was a mother of five children. Education was no longer my dream but instead a dream I had for my children.

Today, I’m the grandmother of 21 and I have three associate’s degrees in Social Science, African American Studies, and General Curriculum, a double bachelor’s degree from University of California Berkeley in African American Studies and Social Welfare, and I’m applying to the Master of Urban Education and Credentials in Education Specialist: Mild/Moderate Disabilities degree at Berkeley. How did I go from being a high school drop out to having multiple degrees? Kurzweil 3000 is the answer.

I learned later in life that I have dyslexia and that’s one of the reasons I didn’t do well in school. My children persuaded me to go back to school but I was told in college that I wouldn’t succeed because of my dyslexia and I was reading on a 7th grade level and spelling on a 3rd grade level. I was lucky to go to Laney College and become involved in the Smartxt Universal Learning Program where students with disabilities can receive the help they need to finish college. That’s when I first started using Kurzweil 3000, the text-to-speech program. Kurzweil 3000 helped me read, take notes, and learn how to spell. I used Kurzweil 3000 every step of the way to get my degrees and instead of getting Ds and Cs, I get As and Bs in my courses. It’s because of Kurzweil 3000 that my dream for my children to be educated is now a dream for myself.

Are you ready to take it for a spin?

Sign-up for a 30-day free trial or contact us for a guided tour.