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Across the UK, school pupils have been exclaiming the phrase ““six-seven” during instruction in the latest meme-based trend to spread through classrooms.

While some educators have chosen to stoically ignore the craze, some have accepted it. Five teachers describe how they’re managing.

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

Back in September, I had been speaking with my secondary school class about getting ready for their secondary school examinations in June. I don’t recall precisely what it was in relation to, but I said words similar to “ … if you’re aiming for grades six, seven …” and the complete classroom erupted in laughter. It surprised me totally off guard.

My first thought was that I had created an reference to something rude, or that they detected a quality in my pronunciation that seemed humorous. A bit frustrated – but honestly intrigued and mindful that they weren’t trying to be malicious – I asked them to clarify. Frankly speaking, the explanation they offered failed to create much difference – I still had little comprehension.

What could have made it especially amusing was the evaluating motion I had performed during speaking. I later discovered that this frequently goes with “six-seven”: I meant it to aid in demonstrating the process of me speaking my mind.

To end the trend I aim to mention it as much as I can. Nothing reduces a trend like this more emphatically than an teacher attempting to join in.

‘Providing attention fuels the fire’

Being aware of it aids so that you can avoid just blundering into remarks like “indeed, there were 6, 7 million unemployed people in Germany in 1933”. In cases where the digit pairing is unpreventable, possessing a firm school behaviour policy and standards on student conduct is advantageous, as you can deal with it as you would any additional disturbance, but I rarely needed to implement that. Rules are important, but if students embrace what the school is practicing, they’ll be better concentrated by the online trends (especially in instructional hours).

Regarding six-seven, I haven’t lost any instructional minutes, except for an periodic eyebrow raise and stating “yes, that’s a number, well done”. When you provide focus on it, then it becomes an inferno. I handle it in the equivalent fashion I would handle any different disruption.

There was the nine plus ten equals twenty-one phenomenon a while back, and certainly there will appear a different trend subsequently. That’s children’s behavior. Back when I was youth, it was imitating Kevin and Perry impressions (truthfully out of the school environment).

Children are unpredictable, and I believe it’s the educator’s responsibility to behave in a way that guides them in the direction of the course that will enable them toward their academic objectives, which, hopefully, is graduating with academic achievements instead of a behaviour list a mile long for the use of random numbers.

‘They want to feel a part of a group’

Students employ it like a bonding chant in the recreation area: a pupil shouts it and the remaining students reply to show they are the same group. It’s similar to a call-and-response or a sports cheer – an shared vocabulary they possess. I believe it has any specific meaning to them; they merely recognize it’s a phenomenon to say. Whatever the latest craze is, they seek to feel part of it.

It’s prohibited in my classroom, nevertheless – it triggers a reminder if they call it out – just like any other shouting out is. It’s especially tricky in numeracy instruction. But my class at primary level are children aged nine to ten, so they’re quite accepting of the regulations, although I understand that at teen education it may be a different matter.

I’ve been a educator for fifteen years, and these phenomena persist for a month or so. This craze will fade away soon – this consistently happens, especially once their junior family members start saying it and it’s no longer fashionable. Subsequently they will be on to the next thing.

‘Sometimes joining the laughter is necessary’

I first detected it in August, while teaching English at a international school. It was primarily male students uttering it. I instructed ages 12 to 18 and it was common with the younger pupils. I didn’t understand its significance at the time, but as a young adult and I realised it was just a meme akin to when I was a student.

These trends are continuously evolving. “Skibidi toilet” was a well-known trend during the period when I was at my educational institute, but it didn’t particularly exist as much in the classroom. In contrast to ““67”, “skibidi toilet” was not scribbled on the whiteboard in instruction, so students were less able to adopt it.

I just ignore it, or periodically I will laugh with them if I accidentally say it, striving to understand them and appreciate that it’s merely pop culture. I think they simply desire to enjoy that sensation of togetherness and companionship.

‘Playfully shouting it means I rarely hear it now’

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