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Throughout the UK, students have been exclaiming the phrase ““six-seven” during instruction in the most recent meme-based trend to take over classrooms.

Whereas some instructors have opted to calmly disregard the craze, others have embraced it. Several teachers describe how they’re managing.

‘I thought I had said something rude’

During September, I had been addressing my year 11 class about preparing for their qualification tests in June. I can’t remember exactly what it was in connection with, but I said a phrase resembling “ … if you’re working to results six, seven …” and the entire group burst out laughing. It caught me entirely unexpectedly.

My immediate assumption was that I’d made an hint at an inappropriate topic, or that they perceived something in my pronunciation that appeared amusing. Slightly annoyed – but honestly intrigued and aware that they had no intention of being hurtful – I got them to clarify. To be honest, the description they then gave didn’t provide much difference – I remained with little comprehension.

What could have rendered it particularly humorous was the weighing-up gesture I had executed while speaking. I have since discovered that this typically pairs with ““67”: My purpose was it to help convey the process of me verbalizing thoughts.

To end the trend I try to reference it as much as I can. Nothing diminishes a trend like this more effectively than an teacher striving to join in.

‘Providing attention fuels the fire’

Being aware of it assists so that you can avoid just accidentally making comments like “for example, there existed 6, 7 thousand jobless individuals in Germany in 1933”. In cases where the number combination is inevitable, maintaining a firm student discipline system and requirements on pupil behavior proves beneficial, as you can address it as you would any additional disruption, but I haven’t actually been required to take that action. Policies are necessary, but if pupils accept what the learning environment is doing, they will remain less distracted by the online trends (especially in instructional hours).

With sixseven, I haven’t wasted any teaching periods, other than for an infrequent quizzical look and commenting ““indeed, those are numerals, excellent”. If you give attention to it, it evolves into a blaze. I treat it in the same way I would manage any additional disruption.

There was the mathematical meme craze a previous period, and certainly there will appear a new phenomenon after this. It’s what kids do. When I was growing up, it was performing Kevin and Perry impersonations (admittedly out of the school environment).

Students are spontaneous, and I think it falls to the teacher to react in a manner that redirects them back to the course that will help them where they need to go, which, with luck, is completing their studies with academic achievements as opposed to a behaviour list lengthy for the employment of random numbers.

‘Students desire belonging to a community’

Young learners employ it like a connecting expression in the schoolyard: a pupil shouts it and the other children answer to demonstrate they belong to the identical community. It’s similar to a verbal exchange or a football chant – an agreed language they share. In my view it has any distinct importance to them; they merely recognize it’s a phenomenon to say. Whatever the current trend is, they desire to feel part of it.

It’s prohibited in my classroom, however – it’s a warning if they shout it out – just like any different shouting out is. It’s especially tricky in maths lessons. But my students at year 5 are children aged nine to ten, so they’re relatively accepting of the regulations, whereas I appreciate that at high school it could be a separate situation.

I’ve been a instructor for fifteen years, and these crazes persist for a few weeks. This craze will die out soon – this consistently happens, especially once their junior family members commence repeating it and it’s no longer trendy. Afterward they shall be engaged with the following phenomenon.

‘You just have to laugh with them’

I began observing it in August, while teaching English at a language institute. It was primarily young men repeating it. I instructed ages 12 to 18 and it was widespread within the junior students. I didn’t understand what it was at the time, but being twenty-four and I realised it was merely a viral phenomenon comparable to when I was a student.

These trends are continuously evolving. ““Skibidi” was a well-known trend back when I was at my teacher preparation program, but it didn’t particularly exist as much in the learning environment. Differing from “six-seven”, ““the skibidi trend” was not inscribed on the whiteboard in class, so learners were less able to adopt it.

I just ignore it, or sometimes I will chuckle alongside them if I unintentionally utter it, trying to empathise with them and understand that it’s simply youth culture. In my opinion they merely seek to feel that sense of belonging and camaraderie.

‘Humorous repetition has reduced its frequency’

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