🔗 Share this article

Throughout the UK, school pupils have been exclaiming the expression “sixseven” during classes in the newest viral craze to take over schools.

While some educators have decided to calmly disregard the trend, others have incorporated it. Several instructors describe how they’re dealing.

‘I thought I had said something rude’

Earlier in September, I had been addressing my eleventh grade tutor group about preparing for their GCSE exams in June. It escapes me exactly what it was in relation to, but I said something like “ … if you’re working to results six, seven …” and the complete classroom burst out laughing. It surprised me entirely unexpectedly.

My first thought was that I had created an reference to an offensive subject, or that they perceived an element of my pronunciation that sounded funny. A bit exasperated – but truly interested and conscious that they had no intention of being mean – I got them to elaborate. Honestly, the description they provided didn’t make much difference – I continued to have little comprehension.

What possibly caused it to be extra funny was the evaluating gesture I had performed during speaking. Subsequently I found out that this often accompanies ““67”: I had intended it to help convey the process of me thinking aloud.

In order to end the trend I aim to mention it as much as I can. Nothing diminishes a craze like this more emphatically than an adult striving to join in.

‘Feeding the trend creates a blaze’

Knowing about it helps so that you can prevent just blundering into statements like “for example, there existed 6, 7 million unemployed people in Germany in 1933”. In cases where the numerical sequence is inevitable, possessing a strong student discipline system and expectations on pupil behavior proves beneficial, as you can address it as you would any other disturbance, but I haven’t actually needed to implement that. Policies are important, but if learners accept what the educational institution is doing, they will remain more focused by the internet crazes (particularly in instructional hours).

With six-seven, I haven’t sacrificed any lesson time, except for an periodic raised eyebrow and stating ““correct, those are digits, good job”. When you provide oxygen to it, it evolves into an inferno. I address it in the same way I would treat any additional interruption.

Previously existed the mathematical meme craze a while back, and there will no doubt be a different trend after this. It’s what kids do. When I was growing up, it was performing television personalities impersonations (truthfully out of the classroom).

Students are spontaneous, and I believe it’s the educator’s responsibility to respond in a way that redirects them back to the direction that will enable them where they need to go, which, hopefully, is completing their studies with qualifications rather than a behaviour list a mile long for the employment of meaningless numerals.

‘Children seek inclusion in social circles’

Young learners use it like a connecting expression in the recreation area: a pupil shouts it and the other children answer to indicate they’re part of the same group. It’s similar to a call-and-response or a football chant – an common expression they share. In my view it has any distinct significance to them; they simply understand it’s a thing to say. Regardless of what the latest craze is, they seek to feel part of it.

It’s prohibited in my classroom, though – it results in a caution if they shout it out – identical to any different shouting out is. It’s notably challenging in mathematics classes. But my class at year 5 are nine to 10-year-olds, so they’re quite accepting of the rules, although I recognize that at secondary [school] it might be a distinct scenario.

I have worked as a educator for fifteen years, and these crazes persist for a few weeks. This phenomenon will diminish in the near future – it invariably occurs, notably once their little brothers and sisters start saying it and it stops being cool. Subsequently they will be on to the subsequent trend.

‘You just have to laugh with them’

I first detected it in August, while instructing in English at a international school. It was primarily male students repeating it. I taught ages 12 to 18 and it was common among the junior students. I was unaware its meaning at the time, but as a young adult and I recognized it was just a meme akin to when I was a student.

Such phenomena are always shifting. ““Toilet meme” was a well-known trend during the period when I was at my teacher preparation program, but it didn’t really occur as often in the classroom. In contrast to ““sixseven”, ““the skibidi trend” was never written on the chalkboard in instruction, so learners were less prepared to pick up on it.

I simply disregard it, or periodically I will smile with the students if I inadvertently mention it, trying to empathise with them and understand that it’s simply pop culture. I believe they merely seek to enjoy that sensation of community and friendship.

‘Playfully shouting it means I rarely hear it now’

I’ve done the {job|profession