‘You just have to laugh’: several UK teachers on coping with ‘six-seven’ in the classroom
Throughout the UK, learners have been exclaiming the phrase “sixseven” during instruction in the latest meme-based craze to take over classrooms.
Whereas some educators have opted to patiently overlook the craze, some have incorporated it. Five teachers describe how they’re coping.
‘I believed I’d made an inappropriate comment’
Back in September, I had been talking to my secondary school tutor group about studying for their GCSE exams in June. It escapes me precisely what it was in relation to, but I said words similar to “ … if you’re aiming for results six, seven …” and the complete classroom started chuckling. It took me totally off guard.
My initial reaction was that I had created an allusion to an offensive subject, or that they perceived a quality in my pronunciation that seemed humorous. Slightly annoyed – but honestly intrigued and aware that they weren’t trying to be mean – I persuaded them to explain. Frankly speaking, the explanation they provided failed to create greater understanding – I still had no idea.
What could have caused it to be extra funny was the weighing-up motion I had made while speaking. I later discovered that this often accompanies ““67”: I had intended it to assist in expressing the act of me thinking aloud.
With the aim of eliminate it I try to bring it up as much as I can. No strategy deflates a trend like this more thoroughly than an teacher striving to get involved.
‘Providing attention fuels the fire’
Knowing about it aids so that you can prevent just blundering into remarks like “well, there were 6, 7 million people without work in Germany in 1933”. When the digit pairing is unpreventable, maintaining a rock-solid student discipline system and standards on pupil behavior is advantageous, as you can sanction it as you would any additional disruption, but I’ve not really been required to take that action. Rules are important, but if pupils embrace what the learning environment is implementing, they’ll be more focused by the online trends (at least in class periods).
With six-seven, I haven’t sacrificed any instructional minutes, aside from an infrequent quizzical look and saying ““indeed, those are numerals, excellent”. Should you offer attention to it, it evolves into an inferno. I handle it in the equivalent fashion I would manage any different interruption.
Earlier occurred the 9 + 10 = 21 trend a previous period, and undoubtedly there will emerge a different trend after this. That’s children’s behavior. Back when I was childhood, it was doing television personalities mimicry (admittedly out of the classroom).
Young people are unforeseeable, and I think it’s the educator’s responsibility to respond in a way that redirects them in the direction of the path that will help them to their educational goals, which, with luck, is graduating with academic achievements as opposed to a disciplinary record extensive for the employment of arbitrary digits.
‘Students desire belonging to a community’
Young learners use it like a connecting expression in the recreation area: one says it and the others respond to show they are the same group. It’s similar to a verbal exchange or a football chant – an common expression they share. I believe it has any specific significance to them; they merely recognize it’s a thing to say. Regardless of what the newest phenomenon is, they desire to experience belonging to it.
It’s prohibited in my classroom, nevertheless – it results in a caution if they call it out – identical to any different verbal interruption is. It’s particularly challenging in mathematics classes. But my students at fifth grade are pre-teens, so they’re quite accepting of the rules, while I appreciate that at secondary [school] it might be a separate situation.
I have worked as a educator for fifteen years, and these phenomena persist for a few weeks. This trend will die out in the near future – this consistently happens, particularly once their little brothers and sisters commence repeating it and it’s no longer trendy. Then they’ll be focused on the subsequent trend.
‘You just have to laugh with them’
I started noticing it in August, while instructing in English at a foreign language school. It was primarily male students uttering it. I instructed ages 12 to 18 and it was widespread among the less experienced learners. I didn’t understand its meaning at the time, but I’m 24 years old and I understood it was simply an internet trend comparable to when I was a student.
These trends are always shifting. ““Skibidi” was a popular meme at the time when I was at my teacher preparation program, but it failed to occur as often in the educational setting. Unlike ““67”, ““that particular meme” was not scribbled on the whiteboard in instruction, so learners were less able to embrace it.
I simply disregard it, or occasionally I will chuckle alongside them if I inadvertently mention it, trying to empathise with them and appreciate that it is just contemporary trends. I believe they simply desire to enjoy that sensation of togetherness and camaraderie.
‘Humorous repetition has reduced its frequency’
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