‘You just have to laugh’: a quintet of UK teachers on dealing with ‘six-seven’ in the classroom
Around the UK, learners have been calling out the phrase “sixseven” during classes in the newest meme-based phenomenon to sweep across schools.
Although some instructors have chosen to calmly disregard the craze, some have embraced it. Five teachers describe how they’re dealing.
‘My initial assumption was that I’d uttered something offensive’
Back in September, I had been speaking with 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 something like “ … if you’re targeting results six, seven …” and the complete classroom burst out laughing. It took me totally off guard.
My initial reaction was that I might have delivered an allusion to an offensive subject, or that they’d heard something in my accent that sounded funny. A bit frustrated – but truly interested and aware that they weren’t trying to be malicious – I got them to clarify. To be honest, the explanation they then gave failed to create much difference – I still had little comprehension.
What possibly rendered it especially amusing was the weighing-up gesture I had performed during speaking. I have since found out that this often accompanies ““67”: I meant it to aid in demonstrating the act of me verbalizing thoughts.
With the aim of kill it off I aim to bring it up as frequently as I can. No approach diminishes a craze like this more emphatically than an adult attempting to join in.
‘If you give oxygen to it, then it becomes an inferno’
Knowing about it assists so that you can avoid just blundering into comments like “indeed, there were 6, 7 million jobless individuals in Germany in 1933”. When the digit pairing is unavoidable, possessing a strong school behaviour policy and requirements on learner demeanor really helps, as you can address it as you would any different disruption, but I haven’t actually had to do that. Policies are necessary, but if students accept what the school is doing, they will remain better concentrated by the internet crazes (at least in instructional hours).
Concerning 67, I haven’t wasted any lesson time, other than for an infrequent eyebrow raise and stating “yes, that’s a number, well done”. Should you offer attention to it, it transforms into an inferno. I treat it in the equivalent fashion I would handle any other interruption.
There was the mathematical meme craze a few years ago, and certainly there will appear a new phenomenon subsequently. That’s children’s behavior. Back when I was youth, it was performing comedy characters impressions (admittedly outside the learning space).
Children are unforeseeable, and In my opinion it’s an adult’s job to behave in a manner that steers them back to the direction that will enable them toward their academic objectives, which, hopefully, is graduating with academic achievements as opposed to a behaviour list lengthy for the use of meaningless numerals.
‘Students desire belonging to a community’
The children use it like a unifying phrase in the playground: a student calls it and the others respond to demonstrate they belong to the equivalent circle. It’s like a call-and-response or a stadium slogan – an agreed language they use. I don’t think it has any distinct significance to them; they merely recognize it’s a phenomenon to say. Whatever the current trend is, they seek to experience belonging to it.
It’s banned in my learning environment, nevertheless – it’s a warning if they call it out – identical to any additional shouting out is. It’s especially challenging in numeracy instruction. But my class at fifth grade are pre-teens, so they’re relatively adherent to the regulations, while I understand that at high school it may be a distinct scenario.
I have worked as a instructor for a decade and a half, and these crazes persist for a few weeks. This phenomenon will fade away soon – they always do, notably once their little brothers and sisters begin using it and it’s no longer trendy. Afterward they shall be focused on the following phenomenon.
‘You just have to laugh with them’
I started noticing it in August, while instructing in English at a language institute. It was mainly young men saying it. I educated teenagers and it was common within the younger pupils. I was unaware its meaning at the time, but I’m 24 years old and I recognized it was just a meme akin to when I was at school.
The crazes are always shifting. ““Toilet meme” was a popular meme back when I was at my training school, but it didn’t particularly exist as much in the educational setting. In contrast to “six-seven”, “skibidi toilet” was not scribbled on the board in instruction, so learners were less equipped to embrace it.
I simply disregard it, or periodically I will smile with the students if I accidentally say it, striving to empathise with them and appreciate that it’s simply contemporary trends. In my opinion they simply desire to experience that feeling of belonging and camaraderie.
‘Lighthearted usage has diminished its occurrence’
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