‘You just have to laugh’: five teachers on dealing with ‘six-seven’ in the classroom

Across the UK, school pupils have been shouting out the words “sixseven” during lessons in the latest meme-based craze to sweep across classrooms.

While some teachers have chosen to stoically ignore the trend, others have embraced it. Five teachers explain how they’re coping.

‘I thought I had said something rude’

Back in September, I had been talking to my year 11 tutor group about preparing for their GCSE exams in June. I can’t remember exactly what it was in reference to, but I said something like “ … if you’re working to grades six, seven …” and the whole class burst out laughing. It took me completely by surprise.

My first thought was that I’d made an allusion to something rude, or that they’d heard something in my accent that sounded funny. A bit exasperated – but genuinely curious and aware that they weren’t intending to be mean – I got them to explain. To be honest, the explanation they then gave didn’t make much difference – I still had no idea.

What might have made it extra funny was the weighing-up gesture I had made while speaking. I have since found out that this often accompanies “six-seven”: I had intended it to help convey the act of me thinking aloud.

In order to kill it off I try to mention it as much as I can. Nothing deflates a craze like this more emphatically than an adult trying to join in. James, secondary school teacher, north London

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

Being aware of it helps so that you can avoid just blundering into statements like “well, there were 6, 7 million unemployed people in Germany in 1933”. If the number combination is unavoidable, having a rock-solid school behaviour policy and expectations on student conduct really helps, as you can sanction it as you would any other disruption, but I’ve not really had to do that. Policies are one thing, but if students buy into what the school is doing, they’ll be less distracted by the internet crazes (at least in lesson time).

With six-seven, I haven’t lost any lesson time, other than for an occasional eyebrow raise and saying “yes, that’s a number, well done”. If you give oxygen to it, then it becomes an inferno. I treat it in the same way I would treat any other disruption.

There was the 9 + 10 = 21 craze a while back, and there will no doubt be another craze after this. It’s what kids do. When I was growing up, it was doing Kevin and Perry impressions (admittedly out of the classroom).

Children are unpredictable, and I think it’s an adult’s job to react in a way that redirects them back to the path that will get them where they need to go, which, fingers crossed, is coming out with qualifications rather than a behaviour list a mile long for the use of random numbers. Connor, 39, history teacher, London comprehensive

‘They want to feel a part of a group’

The children use it like a bonding chant in the playground: one says it and the others respond to show they are in the same group. It’s like a call-and-response or a football chant – an agreed language they share. I don’t think it has any particular meaning to them; they just know it’s a thing to say. Whatever the latest craze is, they want to feel part of it.

It’s banned in my classroom, though – it’s a warning if they shout it out – just like any other shouting out is. It’s particularly tricky in maths lessons. But my class at year 5 are nine to 10-year-olds, so they’re quite accepting of the rules, whereas I understand that at secondary [school] it may be a different matter.

I’ve been a teacher for 15 years, and these crazes last for three or four weeks. This craze will die out soon – they always do, especially once their younger siblings start saying it and it’s no longer cool. Then they’ll be on to the next thing. Jane, early 50s, primary school teacher, north-west England

‘You just have to laugh with them’

I started noticing it in August, while teaching English at a foreign language school. It was mostly boys saying it. I taught ages 12 to 18, and it was prevalent among the younger pupils. I had no idea what it was at the time, but I’m 24 years old and I realised it was just a meme similar to when I was at school.

The crazes are constantly changing. “Skibidi toilet” was a popular meme back when I was at my training school, but it didn’t really exist as much in the classroom. Unlike “six-seven”, “skibidi toilet” was never written on the board in class, so students were less able to pick up on it.

I just ignore it, or sometimes I will laugh with them if I accidentally say it, trying to empathise with them and understand that it is just pop culture. I think they just want to feel that sense of community and camaraderie. Harriet, 24, English teacher at a foreign language school, southern England

‘Playfully shouting it means I rarely hear it now’

I’ve done the job for 30 years and I’ve seen crazes come in and out of fashion, it’s just one of those things.

The first time I heard when I came back after the summer break, I said, “that’s exactly how many examples you need for the reading paper examples; well done!” That, combined with me playfully shouting it at the students (including hand signals) means I rarely hear it now.

The students roll their eyes in an amused way, and you can tell by their faces they are thinking “for god’s sake”. Seeing a teacher old enough to be their grandfather [saying it] has put them off, as it puts the cringe factor up to 11. Paul, 54, secondary school teacher, Cheshire

‘Part of an increasingly globalised repertoire of slang words’

This meme-ification of a brain-rotty statement isn’t anything new. “Sigma”, “skibidi”, “cooked” are all examples of an increasingly globalised repertoire of slang words. The most striking thing for me with regard to “six-seven” is how widespread and globally recognised it is, at least in the anglophone world. At the risk of sounding already teacher-ish, I will say that back in my day, schools had their own local, homegrown slang.

The children all end up seeing the same videos on social media, and with the ease of sending them to each other, they blow up – and fast. I think children today are far more globally connected with trends and popular culture. With the advent of short form video, children are able to whiz through far more information, and access far more meme-able popular culture, than before. Combine that with the vastly popular culture exports of the US, and you end up with a “six-seven” around every corner. George, 26, trainee history teacher, London