Darius Williams, a Houston high school teacher, is going viral after breaking down in tears after watching senior students struggle to read and write on the second day of classes returning to session.
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Williams is currently listed in the staff directory at Houston Independent School District’s Wheatley High School. His role shows him as an NES (New Education System) CTE (Career & Technical Education) teacher in a non-foundational program of study.
On Tuesday (August 11), Williams took to his Instagram with a heartbreaking video. In it, he said that he “literally broke down” in his classroom on the second day of the 2027 school year. He tearfully explained:
“I’m on my lunch break. I just finished a three-hour class. We have block, where first and second periods are combined for subjects that need it. So, I literally broke down in the middle of class because I’m teaching seniors and these kids are leaving high school and going to college, hopefully, after they finish. We had two paragraphs to read. One sentence complete, to write. I gave them the sentence stems. I basically completed the sentence for them in the model.”
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As the tears continued and his voice trembled, the HSID high school teacher went on:
“These are 17- and 18-year-old kids and they couldn’t fill in four words. Four words. I gave them the scenario. We annotated together. I gave them the answers before we even had the problem. And they couldn’t do it. I don’t know. I simply don’t know where the problem is. This is only day two and I have seniors who simply cannot read and seniors who cannot write. They cannot write. They can reason. They have the ability to defend their reasoning, if it’s talking to their homeboy, but applying that to a written text — two paragraphs, they couldn’t do it. Our young, Black men, our young Brown men, our young Black girls, and our young Brown girls… Oh God.”
Williams captioned the post:
“I thought long and hard about posting this. But we have got to do something. Something is broken somewhere. It has to be. To see this level of engagement with students who simply don’t have literacy skills is completely disheartening. Whew. Y’all did not prepare me for this. Whew…”
As Williams’ video about his concerns went viral, questions surfaced about his background and qualifications to teach. This is because Williams is also known online for his cooking videos and content, under his handle, DariusCooks. However, the online personality quickly silenced speculation while sharing his completed coursework, certifications, and other credentials required to teach in Texas.
On Wednesday (August 12), he shared a video to discuss it all. He captioned the post, “First. And last time addressing this. See ya in a few!!!!”
HSID later released a statement. According to Click2Houston, it read:
“Houston ISD has a sense of urgency about ensuring every student graduates prepared for college, career, and life. We know some students enter high school significantly below grade level, and helping those students accelerate their learning is among our most important responsibilities. The first days of the school year are an important time for teachers to get to know their students’ academic abilities, assess their individual needs, and determine the support each student may require. We see students with a range of academic needs every day. As teachers and instructional leaders, it is our responsibility to identify those needs and our commitment to close the gaps. At Wheatley High School, students have made significant academic gains, demonstrating that strong instruction, high expectations, and targeted support are making a difference. At the same time, we know there are students who need additional academic support, and we will continue working with our teachers and school leaders to ensure those students receive it. We are proud of the progress students are making. Our work continues until every student is prepared for the future.”
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