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Throughout the UK, students have been exclaiming the phrase “sixseven” during classes in the most recent internet-inspired phenomenon to take over classrooms.

While some educators have decided to calmly disregard the craze, others have accepted it. Several educators share how they’re coping.

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

Earlier in September, I had been speaking with my year 11 class about studying for their secondary school examinations in June. It escapes me specifically what it was in connection with, but I said something like “ … if you’re targeting results six, seven …” and the complete classroom burst out laughing. It caught me completely by surprise.

My immediate assumption was that I’d made an allusion to an offensive subject, or that they detected an element of my accent that sounded funny. A bit annoyed – but truly interested and conscious that they weren’t trying to be mean – I persuaded them to elaborate. Honestly, the description they offered didn’t provide greater understanding – I still had minimal understanding.

What might have made it extra funny was the considering motion I had performed during speaking. Subsequently I found out that this often accompanies “six-seven”: I meant it to assist in expressing the process of me thinking aloud.

To eliminate it I aim to mention it as much as I can. Nothing deflates a craze like this more thoroughly than an grown-up striving to participate.

‘Providing attention fuels the fire’

Being aware of it helps so that you can prevent just blundering into remarks like “well, there were 6, 7 thousand jobless individuals in Germany in 1933”. When the numerical sequence is inevitable, maintaining a rock-solid classroom conduct rules and requirements on learner demeanor proves beneficial, as you can address it as you would any other disruption, but I rarely been required to take that action. Guidelines are one thing, but if students accept what the learning environment is implementing, they’ll be more focused by the viral phenomena (especially in class periods).

Regarding sixseven, I haven’t lost any lesson time, aside from an periodic eyebrow raise and saying “yes, that’s a number, well done”. Should you offer focus on it, it evolves into a wildfire. I treat it in the equivalent fashion I would handle any different disturbance.

Previously existed the 9 + 10 = 21 phenomenon a few years ago, and certainly there will appear another craze after this. That’s children’s behavior. When I was childhood, it was imitating comedy characters impersonations (admittedly away from the classroom).

Young people are spontaneous, and I think it’s the educator’s responsibility to react in a way that redirects them in the direction of the course that will get them where they need to go, which, fingers crossed, is graduating with certificates rather than a conduct report lengthy for the utilization of random numbers.

‘Children seek inclusion in social circles’

Young learners employ it like a unifying phrase in the schoolyard: a pupil shouts it and the remaining students reply to show they are the same group. It’s similar to a call-and-response or a stadium slogan – an common expression they use. In my view it has any distinct importance to them; they simply understand it’s a trend to say. Whatever the latest craze is, they want to experience belonging to it.

It’s forbidden in my learning environment, however – it triggers a reminder if they shout it out – similar to any other shouting out is. It’s particularly challenging in mathematics classes. But my class at primary level are children aged nine to ten, so they’re relatively adherent to the regulations, while I recognize that at secondary [school] it could be a separate situation.

I’ve been a teacher for a decade and a half, and these crazes persist for a few weeks. This trend will die out in the near future – it invariably occurs, particularly once their junior family members commence repeating it and it’s no longer cool. Afterward they shall be engaged with the next thing.

‘Occasionally sharing the humor is essential’

I first detected it in August, while teaching English at a international school. It was mostly boys saying it. I taught teenagers and it was widespread with the junior students. I was unaware its meaning at the time, but being twenty-four and I understood it was simply an internet trend akin to when I was a student.

The crazes are continuously evolving. “Skibidi toilet” was a well-known trend at the time when I was at my educational institute, but it didn’t really occur as often in the learning environment. Unlike ““67”, “skibidi toilet” was not scribbled on the whiteboard in instruction, so students were less able to adopt it.

I just ignore it, or periodically I will chuckle alongside them if I inadvertently mention it, striving to understand them and understand that it’s merely contemporary trends. In my opinion they just want to feel that sense of belonging and camaraderie.

‘Lighthearted usage has diminished its occurrence’

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