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Throughout the UK, students have been calling out the words ““67” during classes in the latest meme-based craze to sweep across schools.

Although some teachers have decided to calmly disregard the craze, some have accepted it. A group of educators explain how they’re coping.

‘I thought I had said something rude’

Back in September, I had been speaking with my secondary school students about getting ready for their qualification tests in June. I can’t remember specifically what it was in connection with, but I said something like “ … if you’re working to results six, seven …” and the whole class started chuckling. It took me entirely unexpectedly.

My immediate assumption was that I’d made an hint at an inappropriate topic, or that they detected an element of my accent that sounded funny. A bit frustrated – but truly interested and aware that they weren’t malicious – I persuaded them to clarify. To be honest, the description they then gave didn’t make much difference – I still had minimal understanding.

What might have rendered it especially amusing was the weighing-up motion I had made while speaking. Subsequently I learned that this typically pairs with “six-seven”: I had intended it to assist in expressing the act of me verbalizing thoughts.

To kill it off I try to reference it as frequently as I can. No strategy reduces a phenomenon like this more thoroughly than an adult trying to join in.

‘Providing attention fuels the fire’

Knowing about it assists so that you can steer clear of just unintentionally stating comments like “indeed, there were 6, 7 thousand people without work in Germany in 1933”. If the digit pairing is unavoidable, having a strong school behaviour policy and standards on learner demeanor proves beneficial, as you can deal with it as you would any different interruption, but I rarely been required to take that action. Guidelines are necessary, but if pupils embrace what the educational institution is doing, they will become more focused by the online trends (at least in class periods).

Concerning six-seven, I haven’t sacrificed any teaching periods, other than for an occasional quizzical look and stating “yes, that’s a number, well done”. If you give attention to it, it transforms into a blaze. I handle it in the same way I would treat any additional disturbance.

Earlier occurred the nine plus ten equals twenty-one trend a previous period, and certainly there will appear another craze after this. It’s what kids do. When I was growing up, it was performing Kevin and Perry impersonations (truthfully away from the school environment).

Young people are spontaneous, and I believe it falls to the teacher to behave in a manner that guides them toward the direction that will help them toward their academic objectives, which, fingers crossed, is graduating with qualifications rather than a disciplinary record lengthy for the employment of random numbers.

‘Children seek inclusion in social circles’

Students employ it like a bonding chant in the playground: a pupil shouts it and the remaining students reply to show they are the same group. It resembles a call-and-response or a sports cheer – an shared vocabulary they possess. In my view it has any distinct importance to them; they simply understand it’s a phenomenon to say. Whatever the newest phenomenon is, they want to feel part of it.

It’s prohibited in my learning environment, nevertheless – it’s a warning if they exclaim it – similar to any different calling out is. It’s notably tricky in maths lessons. But my students at year 5 are pre-teens, so they’re fairly accepting of the regulations, whereas I understand that at secondary [school] it might be a different matter.

I have served as a teacher for fifteen years, and these crazes continue for a few weeks. This craze will diminish in the near future – it invariably occurs, particularly once their junior family members commence repeating it and it stops being trendy. Afterward they shall be engaged with the next thing.

‘Occasionally sharing the humor is essential’

I began observing it in August, while teaching English at a foreign language school. It was mostly young men uttering it. I educated students from twelve to eighteen and it was widespread within the younger pupils. I was unaware its meaning at the time, but as a young adult and I realised it was merely a viral phenomenon comparable to when I was a student.

These trends are always shifting. ““Toilet meme” was a well-known trend during the period when I was at my educational institute, but it didn’t really exist as much in the learning environment. Differing from ““67”, ““that particular meme” was never written on the whiteboard in instruction, so pupils were less able to adopt it.

I just ignore it, or occasionally I will laugh with them if I accidentally say it, trying to empathise with them and understand that it is just contemporary trends. In my opinion they merely seek to experience that feeling of belonging and friendship.

‘Playfully shouting it means I rarely hear it now’

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