A primary school teacher from Reading has launched a strong critique against the viral 'six-seven' trend, labelling it an 'embracement of idiocy' driven by profit-seeking social media influencers.
The Root of the 'Craze': Profit Over Purpose
Marlon Minty, a teacher and advocate for logic, was responding to a Guardian piece which suggested the phrase could be a hopeful linguistic development for 2025. His investigation into the trend's origins led him to a starkly different conclusion.
He discovered the phenomenon is not a sinister cult or a clever child-led code, but a 'badly cobbled together mishmash' designed primarily to generate clicks and revenue for online influencers. Minty emphasises that none of the children he questioned could explain where 'six-seven' came from or articulate why it was considered funny.
A Classroom Mantra: 'If You Don't Know Why, Don't Do It'
In his classroom, Minty promotes a clear philosophy to counter such mindless trends. 'If you don't know why you're doing something, don't do it,' is the principle he instils in his pupils.
While not explicitly banning the phrase, he is unequivocal with his students about its implications. 'I am very clear with the students that when we do stupid things without any understanding of what or why we are doing it, we reduce ourselves to idiots,' he wrote in his letter published on 20 December.
Fostering Real Hope Through Kindness, Not Clicks
Minty argues that genuine hope for young people is cultivated through substantive values, not viral emptiness. He asserts that hope in his school is built on the promotion of kindness and honesty.
He concludes by warning against enabling social media platforms and content creators to profit from encouraging purposeless behaviour among children, positioning critical understanding as the antidote to digital fads.
