‘It’s impossible not to smile’: several UK instructors on dealing with ‘six-seven’ in the educational setting

Around the UK, school pupils have been shouting out the expression ““six-seven” during lessons in the most recent meme-based phenomenon to spread through classrooms.

While some educators have opted to stoically ignore the phenomenon, different educators have incorporated it. Five teachers share how they’re managing.

‘I thought I had said something rude’

Earlier in September, I had been addressing my year 11 class about preparing for their qualification tests in June. I don’t recall specifically what it was in relation to, but I said words similar to “ … if you’re aiming for grades six, seven …” and the entire group burst out laughing. It caught me entirely unexpectedly.

My initial reaction was that I might have delivered an hint at an inappropriate topic, or that they’d heard something in my speech pattern that sounded funny. A bit frustrated – but truly interested and conscious that they weren’t trying to be malicious – I asked them to elaborate. Honestly, the description they offered failed to create much difference – I remained with no idea.

What possibly rendered it especially amusing was the considering motion I had executed while speaking. I have since found out that this often accompanies “six-seven”: My purpose was it to assist in expressing the action of me verbalizing thoughts.

In order to end the trend I try to bring it up as often as I can. Nothing diminishes a craze like this more thoroughly than an adult trying to join in.

‘Feeding the trend creates a blaze’

Understanding it helps so that you can prevent just blundering into comments like “well, there were 6, 7 thousand people without work in Germany in 1933”. When the numerical sequence is inevitable, having a rock-solid school behaviour policy and requirements on student conduct proves beneficial, as you can deal with it as you would any different interruption, but I’ve not really had to do that. Rules are important, but if learners accept what the school is practicing, they will remain less distracted by the viral phenomena (at least in class periods).

Concerning 67, I haven’t sacrificed any lesson time, aside from an periodic raised eyebrow and stating ““indeed, those are numerals, excellent”. Should you offer oxygen to it, it evolves into a wildfire. I treat it in the identical manner I would treat any different disruption.

There was the nine plus ten equals twenty-one trend a previous period, and there will no doubt be a different trend following this. This is typical youth activity. Back when I was growing up, it was performing Kevin and Perry mimicry (truthfully outside the classroom).

Young people are spontaneous, and I think it falls to the teacher to respond in a way that guides them back to the direction that will enable them toward their academic objectives, which, hopefully, is coming out with certificates instead of a behaviour list a mile long for the utilization of arbitrary digits.

‘Students desire belonging to a community’

Students utilize it like a connecting expression in the playground: one says it and the others respond to indicate they’re part of the same group. It resembles a call-and-response or a stadium slogan – an agreed language they use. In my view it has any particular significance to them; they simply understand it’s a phenomenon to say. No matter what the latest craze is, they want to feel part of it.

It’s prohibited in my classroom, nevertheless – it results in a caution if they exclaim it – similar to any different verbal interruption is. It’s notably tricky in maths lessons. But my pupils at primary level are pre-teens, so they’re fairly adherent to the regulations, whereas I appreciate that at teen education it might be a distinct scenario.

I have served as a instructor for a decade and a half, and these crazes continue for a month or so. This phenomenon will diminish in the near future – this consistently happens, especially once their younger siblings start saying it and it stops being fashionable. Subsequently they will be focused on the next thing.

‘You just have to laugh with them’

I started noticing it in August, while educating in English language at a foreign language school. It was mostly boys uttering it. I taught students from twelve to eighteen and it was prevalent among the less experienced learners. I didn’t understand its meaning at the time, but as a young adult and I recognized it was simply an internet trend comparable to when I attended classes.

The crazes are continuously evolving. ““Toilet meme” was a well-known trend back when I was at my teacher preparation program, but it didn’t really occur as often in the learning environment. Differing from “six-seven”, ““the skibidi trend” was never written on the whiteboard in lessons, so pupils were less equipped to pick up on it.

I typically overlook it, or sometimes I will smile with the students if I inadvertently mention it, trying to empathise with them and recognize that it is just pop culture. I believe they merely seek to experience that feeling of togetherness and camaraderie.

‘Lighthearted usage has diminished its occurrence’

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