Literacy is a superpower and a fundamental human right. But overall, reading is on the decline worldwide and, perhaps most egregiously, in America. This is especially problematic for young people who are still developing their reading comprehension and critical thinking skills.
Educators all over are sounding the alarm, and it’s a critical conversation to have. But how we go about having that conversation is equally important.
Teacher breaks down in tears over student’s reading struggles
Wheatley High School teacher and content creator Darius Williams recently made international headlines when he posted a video on his Facebook page during his lunch break at school.
“I literally broke down in the middle of class because I’m teaching Seniors. These kids are leaving high school and going to college, hopefully. We had two paragraphs to read, one sentence to write. I basically completed the sentence for them,” he said through tears. “These are 17 and 18-year-old kids. And they couldn’t fill in four words … I simply don’t know where the problem is. I have seniors who simply can not read and seniors who can not write.”
“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,” he added in his caption. “We have got to do something.”
Williams isn’t the first to notice a shocking decline in the reading and writing abilities of high school kids. A viral video from earlier this year, for example, showed high school students in an uproar after their teacher asked them to write a paragraph.
Other educators shared similar sentiments
Teachers have flooded Williams’ comments section with their support:
“This breaks my heart. I have been an educator for 29 years… We have to catch these children young! This is why I do what I do. Literacy is KEY!!”
“As a current high school educator, he’s not lying. Then having to be forced to pass a student that literally did NOTHING all year is also part of the problem. These parents are part the problem as well … an entire no child left behind generation raising an entire generation of the products. It’s bad out here” added another on Instagram
“I’m an 8th Grade English teacher and I can say this … The PROBLEM is very clear. The parents don’t make their kids read at home instead the kids are on social media, video games, TV, etc.. nothing that’s building the skill or coherency of reading and comprehension…. Their attention spans are shot because of technology and the elementary schools are NOT teaching the fundamentals anymore… I could go on and on but we will be here all day,” said another.
However, the video is not being received without suspicion.
Williams has been under fire for his background, with many questioning his qualifications. He has openly admitted to using AI to create his lesson plans and teaching materials and has been investigated for deceptive business practices. Perhaps most notably, he recently transitioned to a teaching career after years as a culinary content creator. The video was posted on just his second day on the job, leading many to wonder if he had earned the right to make such claims.
Even more importantly, many questioned exactly how he went about making them.
Wheatley High students speak out
As the outrage, concern, and controversy around Williams’ video grew, there were a few voices noticeably unrepresented: those of actual students.
Recently, however, some students at the school spoke to Texas Public Radio about the viral kerfuffle.
Michael Jackson, a 17-year-old junior at Wheatley, weighed in.
“It’s just not right,” Jackson said. “Why would you embarrass somebody’s kids? Because if you know kids can’t read, can’t write—why would you go on social media and embarrass the whole kid(s) like that? That’s not right.”
Jackson admitted he sometimes struggles with complicated vocabulary but can read and write, and said Williams was “lying.”
Another student, junior Alexis Salgado, echoed the sentiment. She told TPR that she knew students who struggled in English class, but they could all read. Overall, she hoped all the eyeballs on the video would lead to more support for the students and the school.
Wheatley High School, for its part, received an A rating from the state just days after Williams’ video.
There’s reason for hope
Williams’ point, despite his background and qualifications, may be valid. However, embarrassing real students for social media clout is not going to fix anything.
Luckily, there is plenty of reason for hope.
Curricula that don’t challenge students in reading and writing (and instead focus on superficial skills and lag behind the most up-to-date research on how kids actually learn to read) are all too common. By now, however, we have an incredible wealth of data about how best to teach phonics and reading comprehension so kids can master literacy skills early.
The Science of Reading program represents decades of study in brain science and reading education with an emphasis on the 30-40% of kids who won’t pick up reading skills naturally through bedtime stories and flashcards. Though the knowledge dates back years and years, it’s only now beginning to see widespread adoption in American schools. Schools in Mississippi, for example, saw incredible gains in literacy after implementing Science of Reading, going from 49th to 21st nationally in about 10 years.
There is hope that the curricula are getting better.
Some young people are creating their own change
But beyond that, Gen Alpha and Gen Z kids are taking matters into their own hands. Some estimates say that an incredible 21% of Gen Zers belong to a book club and over 57% of them identify as readers.
In a world where many young people are searching for relief from digital fatigue, reading a book is the ultimate solution. It’s only made cooler and more desirable by the sharp rise in #BookTok and Bookstagram accounts that curate reads and give young readers a community of people to discuss their reading with.
Still, many kids are falling behind. What they need more than public scolding is science-based solutions, not to mention teachers and parents who are willing to fight for them both in and out of the classroom.
