‘You just have to laugh’: five UK teachers on handling ‘six-seven’ in the classroom

Around the UK, school pupils have been calling out the words ““67” during instruction in the newest meme-based craze to spread through schools.

Whereas some educators have opted to calmly disregard the trend, others have incorporated it. A group of instructors explain how they’re coping.

‘I believed I’d made an inappropriate comment’

Earlier in September, I had been speaking with my eleventh grade students about studying for their GCSE exams in June. It escapes me specifically what it was in relation to, but I said words similar to “ … if you’re working to marks six, seven …” and the whole class started chuckling. It caught me entirely unexpectedly.

My first thought was that I had created an reference to an offensive subject, or that they perceived a quality in my pronunciation that appeared amusing. Somewhat annoyed – but genuinely curious and mindful that they weren’t hurtful – I persuaded them to explain. To be honest, the explanation they offered didn’t make significant clarification – I continued to have minimal understanding.

What possibly rendered it especially amusing was the weighing-up movement I had made while speaking. Subsequently I found out that this typically pairs with ““sixseven”: My purpose was it to help convey the process of me thinking aloud.

With the aim of eliminate it I aim to bring it up as often as I can. No approach diminishes a phenomenon like this more emphatically than an teacher trying to participate.

‘If you give oxygen to it, then it becomes an inferno’

Knowing about it assists so that you can steer clear of just accidentally making statements like “well, there were 6, 7 hundred people without work in Germany in 1933”. If the numerical sequence is inevitable, having a firm student discipline system and expectations on learner demeanor proves beneficial, as you can sanction it as you would any additional disruption, but I haven’t actually needed to implement that. Rules are important, but if pupils embrace what the learning environment is doing, they will remain better concentrated by the viral phenomena (at least in class periods).

Concerning sixseven, I haven’t wasted any teaching periods, other than for an occasional quizzical look and saying ““indeed, those are numerals, excellent”. Should you offer focus on it, it transforms into a blaze. I handle it in the equivalent fashion I would treat any different interruption.

Previously existed the nine plus ten equals twenty-one craze a few years ago, and undoubtedly there will emerge another craze following this. That’s children’s behavior. When I was childhood, it was doing television personalities mimicry (honestly outside the learning space).

Children are unforeseeable, and In my opinion it falls to the teacher to react in a manner that steers them back to the course that will get them to their educational goals, which, with luck, is graduating with qualifications rather than a disciplinary record extensive for the use of arbitrary digits.

‘Children seek inclusion in social circles’

Students utilize it like a connecting expression in the playground: a pupil shouts it and the remaining students reply to indicate they’re part of the equivalent circle. It’s like a interactive chant or a stadium slogan – an agreed language they share. I don’t think it has any particular importance to them; they merely recognize it’s a trend to say. Whatever the latest craze is, they desire to be included in it.

It’s banned in my teaching space, though – it triggers a reminder if they call it out – similar to any additional verbal interruption is. It’s notably difficult in mathematics classes. But my pupils at primary level are pre-teens, so they’re quite compliant with the rules, although I understand that at secondary [school] it might be a different matter.

I have served as a educator for a decade and a half, and these phenomena persist for three or four weeks. This craze will fade away shortly – this consistently happens, particularly once their younger siblings begin using it and it stops being cool. Afterward they shall be on to the following phenomenon.

‘Sometimes joining the laughter is necessary’

I first detected it in August, while teaching English at a language institute. It was primarily young men uttering it. I instructed ages 12 to 18 and it was widespread within the younger pupils. I had no idea its meaning at the time, but I’m 24 years old and I realised it was merely a viral phenomenon akin to when I attended classes.

The crazes are always shifting. “Skibidi toilet” was a popular meme back when I was at my educational institute, but it didn’t really appear as frequently in the learning environment. In contrast to “six-seven”, ““the skibidi trend” was not inscribed on the whiteboard in lessons, so students were less able to embrace it.

I just ignore it, or occasionally I will smile with the students if I inadvertently mention it, striving to relate to them and recognize that it is just pop culture. In my opinion they simply desire to experience that feeling of togetherness and companionship.

‘Lighthearted usage has diminished its occurrence’

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