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Around the UK, learners have been calling out the expression ““six-seven” during lessons in the newest internet-inspired craze to sweep across classrooms.

Whereas some teachers have decided to stoically ignore the trend, others have incorporated it. Five teachers share how they’re managing.

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

Earlier in September, I had been addressing my secondary school tutor group about studying for their GCSE exams in June. It escapes me exactly what it was in connection with, but I said something like “ … if you’re targeting grades six, seven …” and the whole class burst out laughing. It took me entirely unexpectedly.

My first thought was that I’d made an allusion to an offensive subject, or that they’d heard something in my accent that appeared amusing. A bit annoyed – but truly interested and aware that they weren’t trying to be hurtful – I persuaded them to explain. To be honest, the explanation they provided failed to create significant clarification – I still had minimal understanding.

What might have rendered it extra funny was the considering gesture I had executed while speaking. Subsequently I found out that this often accompanies ““sixseven”: I had intended it to help convey the process of me speaking my mind.

With the aim of eliminate it I attempt to reference it as frequently as I can. No strategy deflates a trend like this more thoroughly than an grown-up attempting to get involved.

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

Knowing about it helps so that you can prevent just unintentionally stating comments like “for example, there existed 6, 7 million unemployed people in Germany in 1933”. In cases where the digit pairing is unavoidable, possessing a rock-solid student discipline system and standards on pupil behavior proves beneficial, as you can deal with it as you would any other interruption, but I’ve not really had to do that. Guidelines are necessary, but if students buy into what the learning environment is implementing, they’ll be more focused by the internet crazes (at least in instructional hours).

With sixseven, I haven’t wasted any teaching periods, aside from an periodic raised eyebrow and saying ““indeed, those are numerals, excellent”. When you provide attention to it, it transforms into a blaze. I address it in the equivalent fashion I would treat any other disruption.

There was the nine plus ten equals twenty-one craze a few years ago, and undoubtedly there will emerge another craze after this. This is typical youth activity. Back when I was childhood, it was doing television personalities impersonations (admittedly out of the classroom).

Children are unforeseeable, and I think it falls to the teacher to react in a manner that redirects them back to the path that will enable them toward their academic objectives, which, hopefully, is graduating with qualifications rather than a behaviour list a mile long for the employment of arbitrary digits.

‘Children seek inclusion in social circles’

Students employ 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 resembles a verbal exchange or a football chant – an agreed language they share. In my view it has any distinct significance to them; they just know it’s a trend to say. No matter what the newest phenomenon is, they want to feel part of it.

It’s prohibited in my teaching space, nevertheless – it results in a caution if they call it out – just like any additional shouting out is. It’s particularly challenging in numeracy instruction. But my class at primary level are nine to 10-year-olds, so they’re relatively accepting of the guidelines, while I understand that at secondary [school] it could be a different matter.

I have served as a instructor for a decade and a half, and these crazes continue for a few weeks. This craze will diminish in the near future – this consistently happens, particularly once their little brothers and sisters start saying it and it ceases to be cool. Subsequently they will be engaged with the next thing.

‘Sometimes joining the laughter is necessary’

I first detected it in August, while educating in English language at a international school. It was primarily boys repeating it. I instructed ages 12 to 18 and it was widespread among the junior students. I didn’t understand its meaning at the time, but as a young adult and I understood it was merely a viral phenomenon akin to when I attended classes.

These trends are continuously evolving. “Skibidi toilet” was a familiar phenomenon during the period when I was at my training school, but it failed to appear as frequently in the learning environment. Differing from “six-seven”, ““that particular meme” was not scribbled on the board in lessons, so pupils were less equipped to adopt it.

I just ignore it, or periodically I will laugh with them if I unintentionally utter it, attempting to understand them and appreciate that it’s simply contemporary trends. I think they just want to enjoy that sensation of belonging and companionship.

‘Lighthearted usage has diminished its occurrence’

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