🔗 Share this article

Around the UK, learners have been calling out the expression ““67” during instruction in the latest viral phenomenon to take over classrooms.

Although some educators have chosen to calmly disregard the trend, others have embraced it. A group of teachers share how they’re managing.

‘I believed I’d made an inappropriate comment’

Earlier in September, I had been talking to my year 11 tutor group about getting ready for their qualification tests in June. I can’t remember precisely what it was in relation to, but I said words similar to “ … if you’re aiming for marks six, seven …” and the entire group burst out laughing. It caught me totally off guard.

My immediate assumption was that I might have delivered an allusion to something rude, or that they perceived an element of my accent that appeared amusing. Somewhat frustrated – but genuinely curious and mindful that they had no intention of being malicious – I asked them to explain. To be honest, the explanation they provided didn’t provide much difference – I still had little comprehension.

What possibly caused it to be extra funny was the evaluating motion I had executed while speaking. I later found out that this often accompanies ““sixseven”: I had intended it to assist in expressing the act of me speaking my mind.

To eliminate it I aim to mention it as much as I can. Nothing diminishes a craze like this more thoroughly than an teacher attempting to participate.

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

Understanding it assists so that you can steer clear of just unintentionally stating remarks like “well, there were 6, 7 million people without work in Germany in 1933”. In cases where the number combination is unavoidable, maintaining a firm student discipline system and expectations on student conduct really helps, as you can sanction it as you would any other disruption, but I rarely needed to implement that. Guidelines are important, but if students accept what the learning environment is practicing, they’ll be less distracted by the viral phenomena (at least in class periods).

Regarding 67, I haven’t sacrificed any teaching periods, other than for an occasional eyebrow raise and stating “yes, that’s a number, well done”. When you provide attention to it, then it becomes an inferno. I treat it in the identical manner I would treat any different disturbance.

There was the nine plus ten equals twenty-one craze a previous period, and undoubtedly there will emerge another craze subsequently. This is typical youth activity. During my own growing up, it was doing comedy characters impersonations (truthfully outside the learning space).

Young people are unforeseeable, and I think it’s an adult’s job to react in a manner that redirects them toward the direction that will help them to their educational goals, which, hopefully, is graduating with qualifications as opposed to a behaviour list a mile long for the employment of meaningless numerals.

‘They want to feel a part of a group’

Students employ it like a bonding chant in the schoolyard: a pupil shouts it and the other children answer to demonstrate they belong to the identical community. It’s similar to a call-and-response or a sports cheer – an common expression they share. I don’t think it has any specific significance to them; they merely recognize it’s a phenomenon to say. No matter what the current trend is, they desire to experience belonging to it.

It’s prohibited in my learning environment, however – it’s a warning if they call it out – identical to any different shouting out is. It’s notably difficult in numeracy instruction. But my class at primary level are nine to 10-year-olds, so they’re quite accepting of the regulations, although I appreciate that at high school it could be a different matter.

I have worked as a teacher for 15 years, and such trends continue for a few weeks. This trend will fade away in the near future – it invariably occurs, particularly once their junior family members start saying it and it’s no longer trendy. Subsequently they will be focused on the following phenomenon.

‘You just have to laugh with them’

I first detected it in August, while instructing in English at a foreign language school. It was mostly boys uttering it. I educated ages 12 to 18 and it was prevalent within the less experienced learners. I didn’t understand its meaning at the time, but as a young adult and I recognized it was just a meme similar to when I was a student.

Such phenomena are always shifting. ““Toilet meme” was a popular meme during the period when I was at my educational institute, but it didn’t really appear as frequently in the educational setting. Differing from “six-seven”, ““that particular meme” was never written on the board in class, so students were less equipped to pick up on it.

I just ignore it, or sometimes I will laugh with them if I inadvertently mention it, trying to relate to them and appreciate that it is just youth culture. I think they simply desire to feel that sense of togetherness and companionship.

‘Humorous repetition has reduced its frequency’

I’ve done the {job|profession