‘Sometimes you’ve got to chuckle’: a quintet of UK instructors on coping with ‘six-seven’ in the school environment

Throughout the UK, learners have been exclaiming the expression “sixseven” during lessons in the newest internet-inspired phenomenon to sweep across classrooms.

Whereas some teachers have chosen to patiently overlook the phenomenon, different educators have accepted it. Several educators describe how they’re managing.

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

Earlier in September, I had been addressing my year 11 students about preparing for their secondary school examinations in June. I don’t recall exactly what it was in connection with, but I said words similar to “ … if you’re working to grades six, seven …” and the entire group erupted in laughter. It surprised me entirely unexpectedly.

My first thought was that I might have delivered an reference to something rude, or that they detected something in my accent that appeared amusing. Slightly annoyed – but genuinely curious and aware that they weren’t trying to be hurtful – I asked them to explain. To be honest, the description they then gave didn’t provide significant clarification – I remained with minimal understanding.

What possibly made it especially amusing was the weighing-up motion I had made while speaking. I have since discovered that this frequently goes with ““67”: I had intended it to assist in expressing the action of me thinking aloud.

To eliminate it I attempt to reference it as frequently as I can. Nothing deflates a phenomenon like this more effectively than an teacher trying to join in.

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

Understanding it aids so that you can prevent just unintentionally stating statements like “indeed, there were 6, 7 thousand people without work in Germany in 1933”. If the digit pairing is unavoidable, possessing a firm school behaviour policy and expectations on pupil behavior really helps, as you can deal with it as you would any additional disruption, but I haven’t actually had to do that. Guidelines are necessary, but if learners buy into what the educational institution is doing, they will remain less distracted by the online trends (especially in instructional hours).

Regarding 67, I haven’t lost any instructional minutes, except for an infrequent raised eyebrow and stating “yes, that’s a number, well done”. When you provide focus on it, then it becomes a blaze. I handle it in the equivalent fashion I would handle any additional interruption.

Previously existed the 9 + 10 = 21 craze a few years ago, and undoubtedly there will emerge another craze following this. That’s children’s behavior. During my own growing up, it was performing comedy characters impersonations (truthfully out of the learning space).

Students are unpredictable, and I believe it falls to the teacher to react in a manner that steers them in the direction of the path that will help them where they need to go, which, hopefully, is graduating with academic achievements instead of a disciplinary record a mile long for the utilization of random numbers.

‘They want to feel a part of a group’

Students utilize it like a bonding chant in the schoolyard: a student calls it and the other children answer to show they are the identical community. It’s like a call-and-response or a football chant – an common expression they possess. In my view it has any specific significance to them; they just know it’s a thing to say. Whatever the current trend is, they desire to experience belonging to it.

It’s forbidden in my teaching space, nevertheless – it’s a warning if they call it out – just like any additional verbal interruption is. It’s especially difficult in mathematics classes. But my pupils at primary level are children aged nine to ten, so they’re quite adherent to the rules, whereas I appreciate that at secondary [school] it may be a distinct scenario.

I have worked as a teacher for fifteen years, and such trends persist for a month or so. This trend will die out soon – this consistently happens, especially once their little brothers and sisters commence repeating it and it ceases to be cool. Subsequently they will be on to the following phenomenon.

‘Sometimes joining the laughter is necessary’

I first detected it in August, while educating in English language at a international school. It was mainly young men uttering it. I taught teenagers and it was prevalent within the junior students. I was unaware what it was at the time, but I’m 24 years old and I realised it was just a meme similar to when I was at school.

Such phenomena are always shifting. ““Skibidi” was a familiar phenomenon at the time when I was at my training school, but it failed to exist as much in the classroom. In contrast to ““67”, “skibidi toilet” was not scribbled on the board in instruction, so learners were less equipped to adopt it.

I just ignore it, or periodically I will laugh with them if I inadvertently mention it, striving to empathise with them and understand that it’s simply contemporary trends. I believe they simply desire to feel that sense of community and friendship.

‘Lighthearted usage has diminished its occurrence’

I have performed the {job|profession