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Around the UK, learners have been shouting out the words ““six-seven” during classes in the latest viral craze to take over classrooms.

Whereas some teachers have chosen to patiently overlook the phenomenon, some have accepted it. Five educators share how they’re dealing.

‘I thought I had said something rude’

During September, I had been addressing my eleventh grade class about preparing for their secondary school examinations in June. I don’t recall exactly what it was in relation to, but I said words similar to “ … if you’re targeting marks six, seven …” and the complete classroom started chuckling. It surprised me totally off guard.

My initial reaction was that I had created an reference to an offensive subject, or that they perceived a quality in my accent that seemed humorous. A bit frustrated – but genuinely curious and conscious that they had no intention of being malicious – I got them to explain. Honestly, the explanation they offered failed to create much difference – I remained with little comprehension.

What possibly rendered it particularly humorous was the considering gesture I had performed during speaking. I have since found out that this frequently goes with ““sixseven”: I meant it to help convey the act of me speaking my mind.

In order to eliminate it I attempt to mention it as frequently as I can. No strategy deflates a phenomenon like this more effectively than an adult trying to join in.

‘If you give oxygen to it, then it becomes an inferno’

Knowing about it helps so that you can steer clear of just blundering into statements like “well, there were 6, 7 hundred unemployed people in Germany in 1933”. When the digit pairing is inevitable, maintaining a strong school behaviour policy and expectations on student conduct proves beneficial, as you can deal with it as you would any other disruption, but I’ve not really had to do that. Rules are necessary, but if learners accept what the school is doing, they’ll be less distracted by the viral phenomena (especially in lesson time).

Concerning sixseven, I haven’t lost any lesson time, other than for an periodic quizzical look and stating “yes, that’s a number, well done”. Should you offer oxygen to it, it transforms into an inferno. I handle it in the same way I would treat any additional disruption.

There was the 9 + 10 = 21 craze a while back, and certainly there will appear another craze following this. That’s children’s behavior. During my own childhood, it was imitating comedy characters mimicry (truthfully outside the classroom).

Young people are unforeseeable, and In my opinion it’s an adult’s job to react in a approach that guides them back to the direction that will enable them toward their academic objectives, which, with luck, is graduating with qualifications as opposed to a disciplinary record lengthy for the use of random numbers.

‘Students desire belonging to a community’

Young learners use it like a connecting expression in the recreation area: one says it and the other children answer to show they are the same group. It’s like a interactive chant or a sports cheer – an shared vocabulary they possess. I believe it has any distinct meaning to them; they merely recognize it’s a thing to say. Regardless of what the newest phenomenon is, they want to experience belonging to it.

It’s forbidden in my learning environment, nevertheless – it’s a warning if they shout it out – similar to any other shouting out is. It’s particularly tricky in maths lessons. But my pupils at fifth grade are children aged nine to ten, so they’re relatively accepting of the regulations, whereas I recognize that at secondary [school] it may be a different matter.

I have worked as a instructor for 15 years, and such trends continue for three or four weeks. This phenomenon will die out shortly – it invariably occurs, particularly once their little brothers and sisters begin using it and it’s no longer cool. Then they’ll be engaged with the next thing.

‘Sometimes joining the laughter is necessary’

I started noticing it in August, while instructing in English at a foreign language school. It was primarily young men repeating it. I instructed teenagers and it was common with the younger pupils. I didn’t understand what it was at the time, but being twenty-four and I recognized it was simply an internet trend akin to when I attended classes.

The crazes are constantly changing. ““Skibidi” was a well-known trend during the period when I was at my educational institute, but it didn’t particularly appear as frequently in the classroom. Unlike ““67”, ““the skibidi trend” was never written on the board in lessons, so learners were less equipped to adopt it.

I simply disregard it, or periodically I will laugh with them if I unintentionally utter it, striving to empathise with them and appreciate that it is just youth culture. I think they just want to feel that sense of community and friendship.

‘Playfully shouting it means I rarely hear it now’

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