Photo: Darius Williams/Instagram
Darius Williams, a Houston Independent School District teacher known as Darius Cooks on social media, says he broke down in the middle of class after seniors struggled with a reading and writing exercise.
Williams, who teaches at Wheatley High School, shared his reaction in an Instagram video. He said he gave his 17- and 18-year-old students two paragraphs to read, along with a sentence model to complete. He said the students struggled to fill in four words.
“I literally broke down in the middle of class because I’m teaching seniors,” Williams said. "I have seniors who cannot read. I have seniors who cannot write."
Williams said the experience left him questioning how students could reach their final year of high school without stronger literacy skills. He also acknowledged that it was only the second day of classes and said he did not know where the problem began.
In the caption accompanying his video, Williams said he had debated whether to share the experience but felt something needed to change.
“Something is broken somewhere,” he wrote. “To see this level of engagement with students who simply don’t have literacy skills is completely disheartening.”
The video has sparked discussion online about literacy, academic preparedness and the challenges educators face when students enter their classrooms lacking literacy skills.
The school district told Click2Houston that students enter high school with varying academic needs and that the district has invested in literacy instruction and other academic supports. The district also pointed to academic gains at Wheatley in recent years.
Williams’ experience has renewed questions about how schools can identify and address literacy gaps before students reach their final year of high school.
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