‘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 calling out the expression ““six-seven” during lessons in the newest viral craze to sweep across educational institutions.

Although some teachers have chosen to stoically ignore the craze, others have incorporated it. Five instructors describe how they’re coping.

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

Back in September, I had been addressing my year 11 students about studying for their GCSE exams in June. It escapes me precisely what it was in relation to, but I said something like “ … if you’re working to marks six, seven …” and the entire group started chuckling. It surprised me entirely unexpectedly.

My initial reaction was that I might have delivered an reference to something rude, or that they detected an element of my speech pattern that sounded funny. Slightly annoyed – but genuinely curious and aware that they had no intention of being hurtful – I got them to elaborate. Honestly, the description they provided failed to create significant clarification – I still had little comprehension.

What possibly caused it to be extra funny was the weighing-up movement I had executed while speaking. I later learned that this often accompanies “six-seven”: My purpose was it to help convey the act of me thinking aloud.

With the aim of end the trend I try to mention it as much as I can. No strategy diminishes a craze like this more effectively than an teacher striving to participate.

‘Feeding the trend creates a blaze’

Knowing about it assists so that you can avoid just unintentionally stating statements like “well, there were 6, 7 million unemployed people in Germany in 1933”. In cases where the digit pairing is unpreventable, maintaining a strong school behaviour policy and expectations on student conduct is advantageous, as you can deal with it as you would any other disturbance, but I haven’t actually been required to take that action. Guidelines are one thing, but if learners buy into what the learning environment is doing, they’ll be better concentrated by the internet crazes (at least in instructional hours).

Regarding 67, I haven’t wasted any lesson time, aside from an periodic raised eyebrow and saying “yes, that’s a number, well done”. When you provide attention to it, then it becomes a blaze. I treat it in the same way I would treat any other disruption.

Earlier occurred the nine plus ten equals twenty-one trend a few years ago, and certainly there will appear a different trend subsequently. That’s children’s behavior. During my own childhood, it was doing television personalities impressions (honestly out of the learning space).

Students are unpredictable, and I believe it’s the educator’s responsibility to behave in a approach that steers them toward the direction that will get them where they need to go, which, hopefully, is graduating with qualifications instead of a conduct report a mile long for the employment of meaningless numerals.

‘Students desire belonging to a community’

The children utilize it like a unifying phrase in the recreation area: one says it and the others respond to demonstrate they belong to the equivalent circle. It resembles a verbal exchange or a football chant – an agreed language they share. I don’t think it has any specific meaning to them; they merely recognize it’s a trend to say. Whatever the current trend is, they seek to experience belonging to it.

It’s prohibited in my learning environment, nevertheless – it results in a caution if they call it out – identical to any additional calling out is. It’s especially difficult in numeracy instruction. But my students at year 5 are nine to 10-year-olds, so they’re relatively accepting of the regulations, although I recognize that at high school it might be a separate situation.

I’ve been a educator for 15 years, and these crazes last for a few weeks. This phenomenon will fade away soon – this consistently happens, notably once their younger siblings start saying it and it stops being trendy. Subsequently they will be engaged with the following phenomenon.

‘You just have to laugh with them’

I began observing it in August, while educating in English language at a international school. It was primarily young men repeating it. I taught ages 12 to 18 and it was widespread within the less experienced learners. I was unaware what it was at the time, but I’m 24 years old and I understood it was merely a viral phenomenon similar to when I was a student.

These trends are continuously evolving. “Skibidi toilet” was a well-known trend back when I was at my teacher preparation program, but it didn’t particularly appear as frequently in the educational setting. In contrast to ““67”, ““the skibidi trend” was never written on the whiteboard in instruction, so pupils were less able to embrace it.

I simply disregard it, or occasionally I will smile with the students if I inadvertently mention it, attempting to empathise with them and recognize that it’s merely contemporary trends. I think they just want to feel that sense of belonging and camaraderie.

‘Playfully shouting it means I rarely hear it now’

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