‘You just have to laugh’: several UK teachers on coping with ‘‘67’ in the classroom

Around the UK, students have been calling out the words “sixseven” during classes in the newest viral trend to sweep across educational institutions.

Whereas some teachers have decided to calmly disregard the phenomenon, some have accepted it. Several educators explain how they’re managing.

‘I believed I’d made an inappropriate comment’

Earlier in September, I had been speaking with my eleventh grade tutor group about studying for their GCSE exams in June. I don’t recall specifically what it was in relation to, but I said a phrase resembling “ … if you’re working to marks six, seven …” and the complete classroom erupted in laughter. It caught me totally off guard.

My first thought was that I might have delivered an allusion to an inappropriate topic, or that they detected something in my accent that sounded funny. Somewhat annoyed – but genuinely curious and aware that they weren’t hurtful – I persuaded them to clarify. Frankly speaking, the explanation they provided failed to create much difference – I remained with little comprehension.

What could have caused it to be especially amusing was the evaluating gesture I had performed during speaking. I have since learned that this typically pairs with ““67”: My purpose was it to aid in demonstrating the process of me speaking my mind.

To eliminate it I attempt to reference it as often as I can. No approach deflates a phenomenon like this more effectively than an teacher attempting to get involved.

‘Feeding the trend creates a blaze’

Knowing about it helps so that you can steer clear of just accidentally making statements like “for example, there existed 6, 7 million unemployed people in Germany in 1933”. If the digit pairing is inevitable, possessing a firm school behaviour policy and standards on learner demeanor proves beneficial, as you can address it as you would any different interruption, but I rarely needed to implement that. Policies are necessary, but if students accept what the school is doing, they will become less distracted by the online trends (particularly in class periods).

Concerning 67, I haven’t sacrificed any lesson time, except for an infrequent quizzical look and commenting ““indeed, those are numerals, excellent”. If you give attention to it, it evolves into a blaze. I treat it in the identical manner I would manage any other disturbance.

Earlier occurred the 9 + 10 = 21 craze a previous period, and there will no doubt be a different trend after this. That’s children’s behavior. Back when I was growing up, it was imitating comedy characters impersonations (honestly outside the classroom).

Students are unpredictable, and In my opinion it’s an adult’s job to behave in a approach that guides them toward the path that will enable them to their educational goals, which, fingers crossed, is graduating with certificates rather than a behaviour list lengthy for the use of arbitrary digits.

‘They want to feel a part of a group’

Young learners utilize it like a unifying phrase in the recreation area: a student calls it and the other children answer to show they are the same group. It resembles a call-and-response or a stadium slogan – an common expression they possess. In my view it has any distinct significance to them; they merely recognize it’s a thing to say. No matter what the latest craze is, they seek to feel part of it.

It’s banned in my learning environment, however – it results in a caution if they shout it out – identical to any other calling out is. It’s especially tricky in maths lessons. But my class at primary level are nine to 10-year-olds, so they’re fairly adherent to the regulations, while I recognize that at secondary [school] it might be a distinct scenario.

I have served as a teacher for fifteen years, and these crazes continue for a few weeks. This trend will diminish soon – it invariably occurs, particularly once their junior family members start saying it and it’s no longer trendy. Subsequently they will be on to the next thing.

‘Sometimes joining the laughter is necessary’

I started noticing it in August, while educating in English language at a language institute. It was mainly male students repeating it. I taught students from twelve to eighteen and it was common with the younger pupils. I didn’t understand its meaning at the time, but I’m 24 years old and I realised it was just a meme akin to when I was a student.

These trends are continuously evolving. “Skibidi toilet” was a familiar phenomenon at the time when I was at my training school, but it failed to occur as often in the educational setting. In contrast to “six-seven”, ““that particular meme” was never written on the whiteboard in instruction, so students were less able to pick up on it.

I simply disregard it, or occasionally I will smile with the students if I unintentionally utter it, attempting to understand them and recognize that it is just contemporary trends. I believe they just want to experience that feeling of belonging and companionship.

‘Humorous repetition has reduced its frequency’

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Kenneth Hayden
Kenneth Hayden

Lena is a tech enthusiast and software developer with a passion for gaming and digital innovation.