🔗 Share this article

Around the UK, school pupils have been calling out the expression ““six-seven” during instruction in the most recent internet-inspired phenomenon to spread through schools.

While some instructors have chosen to patiently overlook the trend, different educators have accepted it. Five instructors share how they’re dealing.

‘I thought I had said something rude’

Earlier in September, I had been speaking with my year 11 tutor group about studying for their qualification tests in June. I can’t remember exactly what it was in relation to, but I said words similar to “ … if you’re aiming for results six, seven …” and the complete classroom started chuckling. It took me completely by surprise.

My first thought was that I’d made an allusion to an offensive subject, or that they perceived a quality in my speech pattern that seemed humorous. A bit annoyed – but truly interested and mindful that they had no intention of being malicious – I got them to clarify. Honestly, the description they then gave didn’t make much difference – I continued to have no idea.

What might have rendered it especially amusing was the considering movement I had executed while speaking. Subsequently I found out that this frequently goes with ““67”: I had intended it to assist in expressing the action of me verbalizing thoughts.

To end the trend I attempt to reference it as much as I can. Nothing deflates a trend like this more thoroughly than an teacher attempting to get involved.

‘Providing attention fuels the fire’

Knowing about it helps so that you can steer clear of just unintentionally stating statements like “well, there were 6, 7 hundred people without work in Germany in 1933”. When the number combination is unpreventable, maintaining a rock-solid student discipline system and requirements on pupil behavior is advantageous, as you can deal with it as you would any other interruption, but I’ve not really needed to implement that. Policies are one thing, but if students buy into what the learning environment is practicing, they will become better concentrated by the internet crazes (particularly in instructional hours).

With sixseven, I haven’t wasted any instructional minutes, aside from an periodic eyebrow raise and commenting ““indeed, those are numerals, excellent”. Should you offer oxygen to it, it transforms into a wildfire. I address it in the equivalent fashion I would treat any additional disturbance.

Earlier occurred the 9 + 10 = 21 craze a previous period, and there will no doubt be a different trend subsequently. That’s children’s behavior. Back when I was growing up, it was doing Kevin and Perry mimicry (honestly away from the school environment).

Children are spontaneous, and I believe it’s an adult’s job to respond in a way that steers them back to the course that will help them where they need to go, which, hopefully, is completing their studies with qualifications instead of a disciplinary record lengthy for the use of random numbers.

‘Students desire belonging to a community’

The children use it like a bonding chant in the playground: a student calls it and the other children answer to show they are the equivalent circle. It resembles a call-and-response or a football chant – an agreed language they possess. In my view it has any specific significance to them; they just know it’s a phenomenon to say. Whatever the current trend is, they desire to feel part of it.

It’s banned in my learning environment, though – it results in a caution if they shout it out – just like any additional calling out is. It’s notably challenging in numeracy instruction. But my students at year 5 are children aged nine to ten, so they’re fairly accepting of the guidelines, although I appreciate that at high school it may be a separate situation.

I have worked as a educator for a decade and a half, and these crazes continue for a few weeks. This craze will die out shortly – it invariably occurs, particularly once their little brothers and sisters start saying it and it’s no longer fashionable. Subsequently they will be on to the subsequent trend.

‘Sometimes joining the laughter is necessary’

I started noticing it in August, while educating in English language at a international school. It was mainly young men saying it. I educated students from twelve to eighteen and it was widespread with the junior students. I was unaware its meaning at the time, but as a young adult and I realised it was merely a viral phenomenon akin to when I attended classes.

Such phenomena are constantly changing. ““Toilet meme” was a familiar phenomenon during the period when I was at my training school, but it didn’t really occur as often in the classroom. In contrast to “six-seven”, “skibidi toilet” was not scribbled on the board in class, so pupils were less able to pick up on it.

I simply disregard it, or sometimes I will smile with the students if I inadvertently mention it, attempting to empathise with them and recognize that it is just pop culture. In my opinion they simply desire to enjoy that sensation of togetherness and camaraderie.

‘Humorous repetition has reduced its frequency’

I’ve done the {job|profession