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Around the UK, students have been exclaiming the words “sixseven” during lessons in the latest meme-based craze to sweep across classrooms.

While some educators have decided to stoically ignore the phenomenon, different educators have embraced it. Five instructors explain how they’re coping.

‘I believed I’d made an inappropriate comment’

Back in September, I had been addressing my year 11 tutor group about preparing for their qualification tests in June. I can’t remember exactly what it was in relation to, but I said a phrase resembling “ … if you’re targeting results six, seven …” and the entire group burst out laughing. It surprised me completely by surprise.

My initial reaction was that I might have delivered an reference to an inappropriate topic, or that they’d heard an element of my accent that sounded funny. Slightly exasperated – but honestly intrigued and conscious that they had no intention of being malicious – I persuaded them to elaborate. To be honest, the clarification they provided didn’t provide significant clarification – I remained with minimal understanding.

What might have made it particularly humorous was the evaluating gesture I had performed during speaking. I later found out that this frequently goes with ““67”: My purpose was it to help convey the action of me speaking my mind.

With the aim of eliminate it I attempt to mention it as much as I can. No approach reduces a craze like this more thoroughly than an grown-up trying to participate.

‘Feeding the trend creates a blaze’

Understanding it helps so that you can prevent just unintentionally stating statements like “for example, there existed 6, 7 hundred jobless individuals in Germany in 1933”. In cases where the number combination is unpreventable, having a strong classroom conduct rules and standards on student conduct proves beneficial, as you can sanction it as you would any different disturbance, but I rarely had to do that. Rules are one thing, but if pupils embrace what the school is implementing, they will become less distracted by the internet crazes (especially in instructional hours).

Regarding sixseven, I haven’t sacrificed any lesson time, aside from an occasional raised eyebrow and commenting ““indeed, those are numerals, excellent”. If you give oxygen to it, it transforms into a blaze. I address it in the same way I would handle any other disruption.

Earlier occurred the 9 + 10 = 21 trend a while back, and certainly there will appear a new phenomenon subsequently. That’s children’s behavior. During my own childhood, it was doing Kevin and Perry impressions (truthfully away from the learning space).

Young people are unforeseeable, and I believe it’s the educator’s responsibility to respond in a way that redirects them back to the path that will get them toward their academic objectives, which, with luck, is graduating with qualifications instead of a behaviour list lengthy for the use of random numbers.

‘Children seek inclusion in social circles’

The children utilize it like a connecting expression in the playground: one says it and the other children answer to show they are the same group. It’s similar to a verbal exchange or a sports cheer – an agreed language they use. I believe it has any particular meaning to them; they just know it’s a thing to say. No matter what the newest phenomenon is, they want to be included in it.

It’s prohibited in my teaching space, though – it triggers a reminder if they shout it out – similar to any different shouting out is. It’s notably challenging in maths lessons. But my students at fifth grade are nine to 10-year-olds, so they’re quite accepting of the rules, while I recognize that at teen education it could be a distinct scenario.

I have worked as a teacher for 15 years, and such trends continue for a few weeks. This craze will die out soon – this consistently happens, especially once their little brothers and sisters commence repeating it and it stops being trendy. Then they’ll be focused on the following phenomenon.

‘Sometimes joining the laughter is necessary’

I started noticing it in August, while educating in English language at a international school. It was primarily male students uttering it. I taught teenagers and it was prevalent within the younger pupils. I was unaware its significance at the time, but I’m 24 years old and I realised it was just a meme similar to when I was at school.

Such phenomena are always shifting. “Skibidi toilet” was a well-known trend at the time when I was at my educational institute, but it didn’t particularly occur as often in the educational setting. In contrast to ““sixseven”, ““that particular meme” was not inscribed on the chalkboard in lessons, so learners were less prepared to adopt it.

I just ignore it, or occasionally I will chuckle alongside them if I unintentionally utter it, trying to empathise with them and understand that it’s merely pop culture. I believe they simply desire to feel that sense of community and friendship.

‘Playfully shouting it means I rarely hear it now’

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