‘Sometimes you’ve got to chuckle’: a quintet of UK teachers on coping with ‘‘sixseven’ in the school environment

Around the UK, learners have been calling out the expression ““67” during instruction in the most recent meme-based trend to spread through classrooms.

Whereas some educators have decided to calmly disregard the phenomenon, different educators have embraced it. Several teachers explain how they’re dealing.

‘My initial assumption was that I’d uttered something offensive’

Earlier in September, I had been addressing my year 11 tutor group about getting ready for their qualification tests in June. It escapes me specifically what it was in connection with, but I said a phrase resembling “ … if you’re targeting grades six, seven …” and the entire group burst out laughing. It surprised me entirely unexpectedly.

My immediate assumption was that I had created an allusion to an offensive subject, or that they detected something in my speech pattern that seemed humorous. Somewhat annoyed – but truly interested and conscious that they weren’t trying to be malicious – I asked them to elaborate. To be honest, the description they provided didn’t provide significant clarification – I continued to have no idea.

What could have made it particularly humorous was the weighing-up movement I had executed while speaking. I have since discovered that this typically pairs with ““sixseven”: I had intended it to assist in expressing the action of me speaking my mind.

To end the trend I attempt to reference it as frequently as I can. No approach diminishes a trend like this more emphatically than an teacher striving to get involved.

‘Providing attention fuels the fire’

Understanding it aids so that you can steer clear of just blundering into statements like “for example, there existed 6, 7 thousand unemployed people in Germany in 1933”. In cases where the digit pairing is unavoidable, possessing a rock-solid school behaviour policy and standards on learner demeanor is advantageous, as you can sanction it as you would any additional disturbance, but I’ve not really been required to take that action. Guidelines are necessary, but if students accept what the educational institution is doing, they will become better concentrated by the online trends (especially in lesson time).

Regarding 67, I haven’t wasted any instructional minutes, except for an infrequent eyebrow raise and stating ““indeed, those are numerals, excellent”. When you provide focus on it, it evolves into a blaze. I handle it in the same way I would treat any other disruption.

There was the nine plus ten equals twenty-one trend a few years ago, and undoubtedly there will emerge a different trend following this. That’s children’s behavior. During my own youth, it was imitating television personalities mimicry (admittedly out of the learning space).

Young people are spontaneous, and In my opinion it’s the educator’s responsibility to behave in a manner that guides them in the direction of the path that will enable them toward their academic objectives, which, hopefully, is coming out with certificates as opposed to a disciplinary record extensive for the use of meaningless numerals.

‘Children seek inclusion in social circles’

The children use it like a bonding chant in the playground: a pupil shouts it and the other children answer to indicate they’re part of the equivalent circle. It’s like a interactive chant or a stadium slogan – an shared vocabulary they share. In my view it has any distinct significance to them; they just know it’s a phenomenon to say. Whatever the newest phenomenon is, they want to experience belonging to it.

It’s forbidden in my classroom, nevertheless – it’s a warning if they call it out – identical to any different calling out is. It’s particularly difficult in maths lessons. But my pupils at year 5 are pre-teens, so they’re fairly adherent to the guidelines, whereas I recognize that at teen education it might be a different matter.

I’ve been a teacher for 15 years, and such trends last for a month or so. This trend will fade away shortly – this consistently happens, especially once their junior family members commence repeating it and it stops being fashionable. Afterward they shall be on to the next thing.

‘Occasionally sharing the humor is essential’

I started noticing it in August, while instructing in English at a foreign language school. It was primarily young men repeating it. I taught teenagers and it was prevalent among the younger pupils. I had no idea its significance at the time, but I’m 24 years old and I realised it was just a meme similar to when I attended classes.

Such phenomena are constantly changing. ““Skibidi” was a well-known trend during the period when I was at my educational institute, but it didn’t really occur as often in the educational setting. In contrast to ““sixseven”, ““the skibidi trend” was never written on the whiteboard in lessons, so pupils were less equipped to adopt it.

I simply disregard it, or occasionally I will chuckle alongside them if I accidentally say it, trying to understand them and appreciate that it’s merely contemporary trends. I think they simply desire to experience that feeling of community and camaraderie.

‘Lighthearted usage has diminished its occurrence’

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Cynthia Robinson
Cynthia Robinson

A seasoned sports analyst with over a decade of experience in betting markets and statistical modeling.