{"id":43432,"date":"2026-08-13T16:29:34","date_gmt":"2026-08-13T11:29:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=43432"},"modified":"2026-08-13T16:29:34","modified_gmt":"2026-08-13T11:29:34","slug":"they-couldnt-fill-in-four-words","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=43432","title":{"rendered":"\u2018They Couldn\u2019t Fill In Four Words\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div xmlns:default=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" xmlns:default1=\"https:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" itemprop=\"text\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Darius Williams<\/strong>, 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. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>RELATED<\/strong>: <a href=\"https:\/\/hollywoodunlocked.com\/education-department-eliminates-special-education-office-amid-government-shutdown\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Education Department Eliminates Special Education Office Amid Government Shutdown<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Williams is currently listed in the staff directory at Houston Independent School District\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/wheatley.houstonisd.org\/our-team\/staff-directory?utf8=%E2%9C%93&amp;const_search_group_ids=1498&amp;const_search_role_ids=1&amp;const_search_keyword=williams&amp;const_search_first_name=darius&amp;const_search_last_name=\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Wheatley High School<\/a>. His role shows him as an NES (New Education System) CTE (Career &amp; Technical Education) teacher in a non-foundational program of study.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On Tuesday (August 11), Williams took to his <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/Db6C4WAiQzI\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Instagram<\/a> with a heartbreaking video. In it, he said that he \u201cliterally broke down\u201d in his classroom on the second day of the 2027 school year. He tearfully explained: <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI\u2019m 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\u2019m 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.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>RELATED<\/strong>: <a href=\"https:\/\/hollywoodunlocked.com\/judge-blocks-donald-trump-executive-order-to-eliminate-education-department\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Judge Blocks Donald Trump\u2019s Executive Order To Eliminate Education Department<\/a> <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As the tears continued and his voice trembled, the HSID high school teacher went on:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThese are 17- and 18-year-old kids and they couldn\u2019t 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\u2019t do it. I don\u2019t know. I simply don\u2019t 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\u2019s talking to their homeboy, but applying that to a written text \u2014 two paragraphs, they couldn\u2019t do it. Our young, Black men, our young Brown men, our young Black girls, and our young Brown girls\u2026 Oh God.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Williams captioned the post: <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI 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\u2019t have literacy skills is completely disheartening. Whew. Y\u2019all did not prepare me for this. Whew\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>RELATED<\/strong>: <a href=\"https:\/\/hollywoodunlocked.com\/bill-gates-predicts-ai-will-replace-doctors-teachers-and-more-within-10-years-claims-humans-will-be-unnecessary-for-most-tasks\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Bill Gates Predicts AI Will Replace Doctors, Teachers, And More Within 10 Years, Claims Humans Will Be Unnecessary For Most Tasks<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As Williams\u2019 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. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On Wednesday (August 12), he shared a video to discuss it all. He captioned the post, \u201cFirst. And last time addressing this. See ya in a few!!!!\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">HSID later released a statement. According to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.click2houston.com\/news\/local\/2026\/08\/12\/hisd-teacher-says-he-broke-down-after-seniors-struggled-to-read-and-write-on-second-day-of-classes\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Click2Houston<\/a>, it read:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cHouston 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\u2019 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.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>#Socialites, be sure to check out the post below, then leave us your thoughts in a comment after! <\/strong><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"instagram-media\" data-instgrm-captioned=\"\" data-instgrm-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/Db9qhs-kQJ8\/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading\" data-instgrm-version=\"14\" style=\" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:540px; min-width:326px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);\"\/>\n<p><!-- CONTENT END 1 --><\/p><\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>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. RELATED: Education Department Eliminates Special Education Office Amid Government Shutdown Williams is currently listed in the staff directory at Houston Independent School&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":43433,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/hollywoodunlocked.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Houston-High-School-Teacher-Breaks-Down-In-Tears-After-Watching-Seniors-Struggle-To-Read-And-Write-On-Second-Day-Of-Classes-\u2018They-Couldnt-Fill-In-Four-Words.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-43432","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-celebrity-gossip"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43432","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=43432"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43432\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/43433"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=43432"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=43432"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=43432"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}