‘Sometimes you’ve got to chuckle’: a quintet of UK teachers on handling ‘‘sixseven’ in the classroom

Across the UK, school pupils have been exclaiming the phrase “sixseven” during classes in the newest viral craze to spread through schools.

Although some instructors have decided to stoically ignore the phenomenon, different educators have incorporated it. Several instructors explain how they’re dealing.

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

Earlier in September, I had been talking to my eleventh grade tutor group about studying for their secondary school examinations in June. I don’t recall specifically what it was in reference to, but I said words similar to “ … if you’re aiming for results six, seven …” and the whole class burst out laughing. It took me entirely unexpectedly.

My initial reaction was that I’d made an allusion to an inappropriate topic, or that they perceived something in my pronunciation that seemed humorous. A bit annoyed – but genuinely curious and aware that they weren’t trying to be malicious – I got them to elaborate. Frankly speaking, the explanation they then gave didn’t make much difference – I still had minimal understanding.

What could have made it extra funny was the weighing-up motion I had performed during speaking. I have since learned that this frequently goes with ““sixseven”: My purpose was it to assist in expressing the act of me verbalizing thoughts.

In order to eliminate it I try to bring it up as much as I can. No approach deflates a craze like this more emphatically than an grown-up striving to join in.

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

Understanding it assists so that you can steer clear of just blundering into comments like “well, there were 6, 7 thousand jobless individuals in Germany in 1933”. If the number combination is inevitable, maintaining a firm classroom conduct rules and requirements on student conduct is advantageous, as you can deal with it as you would any other disruption, but I rarely needed to implement that. Rules are one thing, but if pupils embrace what the educational institution is practicing, they’ll be better concentrated by the internet crazes (especially in lesson time).

With sixseven, I haven’t sacrificed any lesson time, except for an infrequent eyebrow raise and commenting ““correct, those are digits, good job”. Should you offer focus on it, it transforms into a wildfire. I handle it in the identical manner I would manage any different disruption.

Earlier occurred the nine plus ten equals twenty-one phenomenon a few years ago, and there will no doubt be another craze after this. It’s what kids do. During my own youth, it was imitating comedy characters mimicry (admittedly out of the classroom).

Students are unpredictable, and I believe it falls to the teacher to react in a manner that guides them in the direction of the direction that will get them to their educational goals, which, fingers crossed, is graduating with academic achievements as opposed to a conduct report lengthy for the employment of arbitrary digits.

‘They want to feel a part of a group’

The children utilize it like a connecting expression in the schoolyard: a pupil shouts it and the other children answer to show they are the identical community. It’s like a interactive chant or a stadium slogan – an common expression they possess. I don’t think it has any distinct meaning to them; they simply understand it’s a trend to say. No matter what the current trend is, they seek to experience belonging to it.

It’s banned in my learning environment, however – it results in a caution if they call it out – similar to any different shouting out is. It’s especially tricky in maths lessons. But my pupils at year 5 are nine to 10-year-olds, so they’re quite compliant with the rules, although I appreciate that at high school it might be a distinct scenario.

I have worked as a educator for fifteen years, and these phenomena continue for three or four weeks. This phenomenon will die out shortly – they always do, particularly once their junior family members start saying it and it stops being trendy. Subsequently they will be focused on the next thing.

‘Sometimes joining the laughter is necessary’

I began observing it in August, while teaching English at a international school. It was mainly boys repeating it. I instructed students from twelve to eighteen and it was common among the less experienced learners. I didn’t understand its meaning at the time, but as a young adult and I understood it was just a meme comparable to when I was at school.

The crazes are constantly changing. ““Toilet meme” was a popular meme at the time when I was at my teacher preparation program, but it didn’t really appear as frequently in the educational setting. In contrast to ““sixseven”, ““that particular meme” was never written on the chalkboard in instruction, so pupils were less prepared to embrace it.

I just ignore it, or occasionally I will laugh with them if I inadvertently mention it, attempting to relate to them and appreciate that it’s merely contemporary trends. In my opinion they simply desire to experience that feeling of togetherness and camaraderie.

‘Playfully shouting it means I rarely hear it now’

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Joanna Hall
Joanna Hall

Elara is a seasoned betting analyst with over a decade of experience in sports statistics and risk assessment, helping bettors make informed decisions.