A high school teacher went viral after posting a video of himself breaking down in tears and claiming some of his senior students were struggling to read and write, but students at the school are pushing back on his account.
One student told Houston Public Media that Darius Williams, a new teacher at Wheatley High School, was “lying” in the video. Another student, Alexis Salgado, told the outlet that although some students struggled to draft essays and complete advanced English assignments, they could read.
While Wheatley High School has had past literacy issues, the school just celebrated its first “A” accountability rating from the Texas Education Agency.
“At Wheatley High School, students have made significant academic gains, demonstrating that strong instruction, high expectations and targeted support are making a difference,” said the Houston Independent School District’s press office.
In the since-deleted video, which Williams recorded on his second day at the school, he said, “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.”
“I basically completed the sentence for them,” he added. “These are 17- and 18-year-old kids, and they couldn’t fill in four words. Four words.”
Williams has a large social media following under the username “DariusCooks.” He has nearly 700,000 followers on Instagram and more than one million followers on TikTok, which he amassed largely through his cooking videos.
Williams did not respond to The Daily Wire’s request for comment about his apparent career change from online cooking personality to high school teacher, or why he decided to post the video on his second day on the job.
In addition to posting cooking videos, Williams sells cookbooks and dining experiences. The Better Business Bureau of Metro Atlanta, however, has warned consumers about doing business with DariusCooks.
“BBB advises consumers to use caution when doing business with DariusCooks, LLC,” the bureau said in a statement.
Customers alleged that dining experiences were not honored and that they struggled to receive cookbooks they had purchased.
Williams also operated a credit-repair service but agreed in 2019 to pay $145,750 to settle allegations that the business illegally charged customers upfront and made misleading claims about removing debts and bankruptcies from their credit reports. Williams operated the business in Georgia, but the state attorney general’s office required him to cease all operations there as part of the settlement.
Williams has since moved to Houston to begin a career in education. According to Wheatley High School’s directory, he is a career and technical education teacher.
