‘It’s impossible not to smile’: a quintet of UK teachers on coping with ‘‘sixseven’ in the classroom

Across the UK, students have been exclaiming the words ““six-seven” during instruction in the newest meme-based craze to sweep across educational institutions.

While some educators have decided to calmly disregard the craze, some have incorporated it. Five instructors describe how they’re managing.

‘I thought I had said something rude’

Earlier in September, I had been addressing my secondary school class about getting ready for their qualification tests in June. It escapes me precisely what it was in reference to, but I said words similar to “ … if you’re working to marks six, seven …” and the complete classroom started chuckling. It caught me entirely unexpectedly.

My first thought was that I’d made an reference to something rude, or that they perceived an element of my pronunciation that sounded funny. Slightly frustrated – but honestly intrigued and mindful that they weren’t trying to be hurtful – I persuaded them to explain. To be honest, the clarification they offered didn’t provide greater understanding – I remained with no idea.

What might have rendered it particularly humorous was the weighing-up motion I had performed during speaking. Subsequently I discovered that this typically pairs with “six-seven”: I had intended it to help convey the action of me verbalizing thoughts.

In order to end the trend I aim to bring it up as often as I can. No approach reduces a phenomenon like this more thoroughly than an teacher striving to get involved.

‘Providing attention fuels the fire’

Knowing about it helps so that you can avoid just accidentally making comments like “well, there were 6, 7 thousand jobless individuals in Germany in 1933”. In cases where the number combination is unpreventable, having a strong school behaviour policy and requirements on student conduct really helps, as you can sanction it as you would any other disturbance, but I rarely had to do that. Guidelines are one thing, but if learners buy into what the learning environment is practicing, they’ll be better concentrated by the internet crazes (especially in lesson time).

Regarding six-seven, I haven’t lost any lesson time, aside from an infrequent raised eyebrow and commenting ““correct, those are digits, good job”. When you provide attention to it, it transforms into a blaze. I address it in the equivalent fashion I would handle any different disturbance.

There was the 9 + 10 = 21 trend a while back, and undoubtedly there will emerge another craze after this. This is typical youth activity. When I was youth, it was doing Kevin and Perry impressions (truthfully out of the school environment).

Students are spontaneous, and In my opinion it’s the educator’s responsibility to behave in a approach that guides them back to the direction that will enable them where they need to go, which, with luck, is graduating with certificates rather than a disciplinary record lengthy for the utilization of arbitrary digits.

‘They want to feel a part of a group’

Students utilize it like a unifying phrase in the playground: a student calls it and the remaining students reply to show they are the same group. It resembles a interactive chant or a stadium slogan – an agreed language they possess. I don’t think it has any particular importance to them; they merely recognize it’s a trend to say. Whatever the newest phenomenon is, they want to feel part of it.

It’s prohibited in my learning environment, however – it’s a warning if they call it out – identical to any other verbal interruption is. It’s especially difficult in maths lessons. But my class at fifth grade are pre-teens, so they’re quite compliant with the guidelines, although I recognize that at teen education it could be a different matter.

I have served as a instructor for 15 years, and these phenomena persist for a few weeks. This craze will die out in the near future – this consistently happens, especially once their little brothers and sisters begin using it and it ceases to be trendy. Subsequently they will be on to the following phenomenon.

‘Occasionally sharing the humor is essential’

I first detected it in August, while educating in English language at a international school. It was mainly young men uttering it. I taught students from twelve to eighteen and it was prevalent among the less experienced learners. I had no idea its significance at the time, but I’m 24 years old and I understood it was merely a viral phenomenon comparable to when I was a student.

Such phenomena are continuously evolving. “Skibidi toilet” was a familiar phenomenon at the time when I was at my educational institute, but it didn’t really occur as often in the educational setting. Unlike “six-seven”, ““that particular meme” was not scribbled 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 accidentally say it, trying to empathise with them and recognize that it is just pop culture. In my opinion they merely seek to enjoy that sensation of community and companionship.

‘Lighthearted usage has diminished its occurrence’

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Brianna Whitaker
Brianna Whitaker

Elara is a seasoned leadership consultant with over a decade of experience in guiding businesses toward peak performance and innovation.