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Throughout the UK, school pupils have been exclaiming the phrase ““67” during classes in the latest internet-inspired trend to sweep across educational institutions.

Whereas some teachers have decided to stoically ignore the trend, others have embraced it. Several instructors explain how they’re coping.

‘I thought I had said something rude’

Back in September, I had been talking to my secondary school class about preparing for their secondary school examinations in June. I can’t remember specifically what it was in connection with, but I said something like “ … if you’re aiming for results six, seven …” and the entire group burst out laughing. It caught me completely by surprise.

My first thought was that I might have delivered an allusion to an offensive subject, or that they perceived something in my speech pattern that sounded funny. A bit exasperated – but genuinely curious and aware that they had no intention of being hurtful – I got them to elaborate. Frankly speaking, the explanation they then gave didn’t provide greater understanding – I remained with little comprehension.

What possibly rendered it particularly humorous was the evaluating gesture I had made while speaking. Subsequently I found out that this often accompanies “six-seven”: My purpose was it to help convey the process of me verbalizing thoughts.

To end the trend I aim to reference it as frequently as I can. No strategy reduces a phenomenon like this more effectively than an grown-up attempting to join in.

‘Providing attention fuels the fire’

Knowing about it aids so that you can avoid just accidentally making remarks like “for example, there existed 6, 7 hundred people without work in Germany in 1933”. If the number combination is unpreventable, maintaining a strong student discipline system and standards on learner demeanor is advantageous, as you can address it as you would any different disruption, but I rarely needed to implement that. Policies are one thing, but if students embrace what the learning environment is implementing, they will become more focused by the internet crazes (especially in class periods).

With six-seven, I haven’t wasted any lesson time, aside from an periodic raised eyebrow and stating “yes, that’s a number, well done”. If you give attention to it, then it becomes a blaze. I address it in the same way I would manage any additional interruption.

Earlier occurred the mathematical meme craze a previous period, and there will no doubt be a different trend after this. This is typical youth activity. Back when I was youth, it was imitating television personalities mimicry (truthfully out of the learning space).

Children are unpredictable, and I think it’s the educator’s responsibility to respond in a manner that redirects them in the direction of the path that will help them toward their academic objectives, which, with luck, is coming out with academic achievements instead of a disciplinary record lengthy for the employment of random numbers.

‘Students desire belonging to a community’

The children utilize it like a unifying phrase in the playground: a pupil shouts it and the others respond to show they are the equivalent circle. It resembles a call-and-response or a football chant – an shared vocabulary they use. In my view it has any distinct significance to them; they simply understand it’s a trend to say. Whatever the newest phenomenon is, they want to experience belonging to it.

It’s banned in my classroom, though – it’s a warning if they exclaim it – similar to any additional shouting out is. It’s particularly tricky in maths lessons. But my pupils at primary level are pre-teens, so they’re relatively adherent to the rules, although I understand that at secondary [school] it may be a distinct scenario.

I have served as a teacher for a decade and a half, and these crazes last for a few weeks. This trend will die out soon – this consistently happens, notably once their younger siblings begin using it and it’s no longer cool. Afterward they shall be engaged with the following phenomenon.

‘Sometimes joining the laughter is necessary’

I first detected it in August, while educating in English language at a language institute. It was mainly young men uttering it. I taught ages 12 to 18 and it was prevalent within the junior students. I didn’t understand its significance at the time, but as a young adult and I understood it was just a meme akin to when I attended classes.

These trends are constantly changing. “Skibidi toilet” was a popular meme at the time when I was at my educational institute, but it didn’t really exist as much in the learning environment. Differing from ““sixseven”, ““that particular meme” was not scribbled on the whiteboard in instruction, so students were less equipped to embrace it.

I simply disregard it, or occasionally I will chuckle alongside them if I accidentally say it, striving to understand them and appreciate that it’s merely contemporary trends. I think they merely seek to experience that feeling of belonging and friendship.

‘Playfully shouting it means I rarely hear it now’

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