‘You just have to laugh’: five UK teachers on coping with ‘‘sixseven’ in the school environment
Around the UK, students have been exclaiming the words ““six-seven” during classes in the newest viral trend to take over classrooms.
Whereas some educators have opted to patiently overlook the phenomenon, some have embraced it. Several educators explain how they’re coping.
‘I believed I’d made an inappropriate comment’
Earlier in September, I had been addressing my year 11 students 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 working to grades six, seven …” and the whole class burst out laughing. It surprised me totally off guard.
My first thought was that I’d made an reference to something rude, or that they’d heard an element of my speech pattern that sounded funny. A bit exasperated – but genuinely curious and mindful that they weren’t trying to be hurtful – I got them to elaborate. Frankly speaking, the explanation they provided didn’t provide greater understanding – I remained with no idea.
What could have caused it to be especially amusing was the weighing-up gesture I had executed while speaking. Subsequently I discovered that this often accompanies ““sixseven”: My purpose was it to assist in expressing the action of me thinking aloud.
With the aim of eliminate it I aim to reference it as much as I can. No strategy diminishes a trend like this more emphatically than an adult trying to participate.
‘Providing attention fuels the fire’
Knowing about it helps so that you can prevent just unintentionally stating statements like “well, there were 6, 7 hundred jobless individuals in Germany in 1933”. In cases where the numerical sequence is unpreventable, possessing a firm school behaviour policy and expectations on student conduct is advantageous, as you can address it as you would any additional disruption, but I haven’t actually needed to implement that. Policies are important, but if students accept what the school is doing, they will become better concentrated by the viral phenomena (particularly in class periods).
Concerning six-seven, I haven’t sacrificed any instructional minutes, other than for an occasional raised eyebrow and commenting “yes, that’s a number, well done”. Should you offer oxygen to it, it transforms into a blaze. I handle it in the equivalent fashion I would manage any other disturbance.
Previously existed the mathematical meme trend a while back, and certainly there will appear a new phenomenon after this. That’s children’s behavior. During my own youth, it was performing television personalities impressions (honestly outside the classroom).
Children are spontaneous, and I believe it’s the educator’s responsibility to react in a manner that steers them in the direction of the course that will enable them where they need to go, which, with luck, is completing their studies with certificates as opposed to a conduct report a mile long for the employment of arbitrary digits.
‘Students desire belonging to a community’
Students employ it like a bonding chant in the schoolyard: a pupil shouts it and the others respond to show they are the same group. It’s like 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 just know it’s a thing to say. Whatever the latest craze is, they want to experience belonging to it.
It’s forbidden in my learning environment, nevertheless – it triggers a reminder if they call it out – just like any additional verbal interruption is. It’s especially difficult in mathematics classes. But my pupils at primary level are pre-teens, so they’re fairly compliant with the regulations, whereas I appreciate that at high school it may be a distinct scenario.
I have served as a educator for 15 years, and such trends last for a month or so. This trend will die out in the near future – this consistently happens, particularly once their younger siblings 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 began observing it in August, while instructing in English at a foreign language school. It was primarily boys uttering it. I educated students from twelve to eighteen and it was common with the less experienced learners. I didn’t understand its significance at the time, but being twenty-four and I recognized it was merely a viral phenomenon similar to when I attended classes.
Such phenomena are always shifting. “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 learning environment. Unlike ““sixseven”, “skibidi toilet” was not inscribed on the whiteboard in instruction, so pupils were less prepared to adopt it.
I just ignore it, or periodically I will laugh with them if I unintentionally utter it, striving to empathise with them and recognize that it’s merely contemporary trends. I believe they just want to enjoy that sensation of belonging and friendship.
‘Lighthearted usage has diminished its occurrence’
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