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Throughout the UK, school pupils have been shouting out the expression ““six-seven” during classes in the newest viral phenomenon to sweep across classrooms.

While some teachers have chosen to calmly disregard the craze, some have accepted it. Several educators share how they’re coping.

‘I believed I’d made an inappropriate comment’

During September, I had been speaking with my secondary school tutor group about preparing for their secondary school examinations in June. I can’t remember precisely what it was in connection with, but I said a phrase resembling “ … if you’re aiming for grades six, seven …” and the entire group started chuckling. It surprised me completely by surprise.

My immediate assumption was that I’d made an reference to something rude, or that they perceived a quality in my speech pattern that seemed humorous. Somewhat annoyed – but genuinely curious and conscious that they had no intention of being malicious – I persuaded them to elaborate. Honestly, the description they provided didn’t make significant clarification – I remained with little comprehension.

What possibly rendered it extra funny was the considering gesture I had performed during speaking. I later discovered that this frequently goes with ““sixseven”: I had intended it to assist in expressing the act of me thinking aloud.

In order to kill it off I attempt to reference it as often as I can. No strategy diminishes a trend like this more effectively than an teacher attempting to join in.

‘Providing attention fuels the fire’

Understanding it aids so that you can avoid just blundering into comments like “for example, there existed 6, 7 thousand jobless individuals in Germany in 1933”. In cases where the digit pairing is unavoidable, possessing a strong school behaviour policy and expectations on learner demeanor really helps, as you can address it as you would any additional interruption, but I haven’t actually needed to implement that. Rules are important, but if students embrace what the educational institution is implementing, they will become better concentrated by the online trends (at least in instructional hours).

Concerning sixseven, I haven’t lost any instructional minutes, aside from an infrequent raised eyebrow and stating ““indeed, those are numerals, excellent”. When you provide attention to it, it evolves into a blaze. I treat it in the same way I would handle any additional disruption.

There was the nine plus ten equals twenty-one phenomenon a previous period, and undoubtedly there will emerge a new phenomenon subsequently. This is typical youth activity. During my own childhood, it was performing comedy characters impressions (honestly outside the learning space).

Young people are unforeseeable, and I believe it falls to the teacher to respond in a way that redirects them toward the direction that will get them toward their academic objectives, which, with luck, is coming out with certificates as opposed to a behaviour list lengthy for the use of random numbers.

‘Children seek inclusion in social circles’

The children employ it like a unifying phrase in the playground: a pupil shouts it and the other children answer to indicate they’re part of the same group. It resembles a verbal exchange or a football chant – an shared vocabulary they possess. In my view it has any distinct importance to them; they just know it’s a thing to say. Whatever the latest craze is, they seek to experience belonging to it.

It’s banned in my teaching space, however – it results in a caution if they call it out – similar to any other verbal interruption is. It’s notably difficult in maths lessons. But my pupils at year 5 are children aged nine to ten, so they’re quite accepting of the guidelines, although I appreciate that at secondary [school] it may be a different matter.

I have worked as a instructor for fifteen years, and these crazes persist for a month or so. This phenomenon will die out in the near future – this consistently happens, particularly once their little brothers and sisters commence repeating it and it ceases to be cool. Afterward they shall be engaged with the following phenomenon.

‘Sometimes joining the laughter is necessary’

I started noticing it in August, while educating in English language at a language institute. It was primarily male students saying it. I taught teenagers and it was widespread within the younger pupils. I had no idea what it was at the time, but being twenty-four and I realised it was merely a viral phenomenon similar to when I was at school.

The crazes are always shifting. ““Toilet meme” was a familiar phenomenon at the time when I was at my training school, but it didn’t particularly occur as often in the learning environment. Differing from ““67”, “skibidi toilet” was not scribbled on the chalkboard in instruction, so students were less able to adopt it.

I simply disregard it, or occasionally I will smile with the students if I accidentally say it, attempting to empathise with them and understand that it’s merely contemporary trends. I believe they simply desire to experience that feeling of community and companionship.

‘Lighthearted usage has diminished its occurrence’

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