Table of Contents
The 67 slang moment didnโt arrive gently. It showed up one morning like it owned the place. You hear it in the parking lot before the bell even rings. Someone yells โ67!โ while jumping off the bus. A second grader whispers โsixโฆ sevenโฆโ into a friendโs ear like sheโs passing along state secrets. A high-schooler writes โ67โ in the corner of every whiteboard he passes.
And a teacher in the middle of all this just closes her eyes and thinks, Here we go again.
No one really knows what โ67โ means, which is exactly why it works. It came from Skrillaโs 2024 rap song โDoot Doot (6 7)โ, a track where the number isn’t explained or even hinted at. Skrilla later said he didnโt โput an actual meaning on it.โ
Students heard that and essentially said, โPerfect.โ
It spread like wildfireโnot because of meaning, but because of sound, timing, and social momentum. Thatโs the interesting part for educators: itโs slang, but it behaves like a meme.
Weโve Seen These Waves Before, Just With Different Wrapping
Every decade has its youth-coded language or cultural thing adults donโt get.
-
1980s: The California Raisins. Plastic raisins with sunglasses. No explanation.
-
1990s: Wayneโs World and โSchwing!โ echoing down school hallways.
-
Early 2000s: The Flossing era, so intense that schools made โNo Flossingโ zones.
-
2010s: The โWhat are those?!โ shout that ruined many calm hallways.
โ67โ is the next entry in a long list of harmless student obsessions that adults watch with equal parts amusement and exhaustion.
The cycle never changes. Only the vocabulary does.
Why Students Love Slang Like โ67โ
Kids donโt use โ67โ because it communicates anything. They use it because it solves a few social problems instantly.
1. It creates a connection with zero risk
A kid can shout โ67!โ at someone across the cafeteria and get a laugh instead of a weird look. Itโs an instant, low-stakes handshake.
2. It adds play to a day that doesnโt always feel playful
School can be heavy. Schedules, grades, expectations, friendships, and social pressure collide constantly.
A nonsense number gives them a quick emotional reset.
3. Adults donโt understand it
Whether they admit it or not, kids love this.
Youth slang is partly about identity, and partly about carving out a space adults canโt walk into.
โ67โ checks every box.
Why Adults Donโt Love It (And Never Have With Any Slang)
Teachers and parents donโt dislike fun. They just dislike the timing of the fun.
1. It pops up exactly when things get quiet
Thereโs always one perfect โ67!โ right as the teacher starts the lesson.
2. It’s contagious
Once one kid says it, everyone else has to test their version. Loudly.
3. It feels familiar in a tiring way
Educators have lived through a dozen versions of this already.
They can smell a coming distraction the way dogs smell storms.
Still, educators understand the deeper truth: these moments help kids bond. The challenge is keeping the bonding under the decibel level of a jet engine.
Where 67 Slang Shows Up in Schools
It appears everywhere because it requires nothingโno dance, no prop, no setup, just willingness.
Teachers report hearing it:
-
during attendance
-
in spelling tests
-
shouted into lockers
-
whispered during group work
-
written in planners
-
drawn on homework margins
-
yelled across playgrounds
-
used as a greeting, a farewell, and occasionally a complaint
One teacher said she caught a student saying โ67?โ to a Chromebook that wouldnโt load. We donโt know why, but we also donโt need to.
Slang thrives when it feels absurd.
Why Schools Can’t Stop It (And Probably Shouldnโt Try)
Some administrators try to shut down trends like this. It never works.
You can ban a toy. You canโt ban a number.
Other schools just let it run its course.
This tends to work better, because slang fatigue eventually sets in.
Kids get bored. They move on.
Adults donโt have to fight everything that makes noise.
Classroom Tips for Handling 67 Slang Without Losing Your Mind
Not every strategy will fit every teacherโs style, but here are a few approaches that tend to help:
1. Redirect instead of resist
For younger grades:
โAlright, save the 67s for later. Weโre switching gears now.โ
For older grades:
โGet one more out of your system. Then weโre done.โ
Short, simple, and surprisingly effective.
2. Turn it into a quick routine
Teachers already use call-and-response. This is just a remix.
Teacher: โ6!โ
Students: โ7!โ
Teacher: โAnd now weโre moving.โ
It buys focus because it honors the moment.
3. Fold it gently into lessons
A math problem that includes โ67โ makes students snicker but also keeps them engaged.
An ELA discussion about slang and generational language opens interesting doors.
No need to overuse it. Just show students you know the world they occupy.
4. Make it an incentive
โHit our goal, and you get a 67-second joke break today.โ
Kids love specificity.
And 67 seconds feels like a reward and a joke at the same time.
5. Use it to talk about how language spreads
“Why did this catch on? Why not another number? How do inside jokes form?โ
Students like pulling apart language once they realize theyโre allowed to.
Why This Kind of Slang Is Useful, Not Just Annoying
Slang gives kids:
-
a shared identity
-
a safe way to connect
-
a way to test humor without embarrassment
-
a sense of contribution to youth culture
-
something light inside a heavy school day
It looks silly, but it matters. The classroom feels different when students feel like theyโre part of somethingโeven if that โsomethingโ makes zero sense.
Educators often talk about culture-building in big, serious ways. But sometimes students build culture sideways, through jokes, sounds, and throwaway expressions.
Slang like โ67โ is part of that ecosystem.
Eventually It Fades โ Because All Slang Does
And if you need one final sign that 67 grew way past a hallway joke, here it is: Dictionary.com named it the 2025 Word of the Year. A number with no meaning beats every real word in the English language. Kids win again.
No slang trend stays forever. Kids drop it the moment adults finally understand it.
Or they drop it because the next nonsensical thing shows up on TikTok at 1 a.m.
Soon weโll hear a new sound, number, or phrase echoing through the hallways.
The adults will say, โWhat does that mean?โ
And the kids will say, โYou wonโt get it.โ
And the circle continues.
For now, โ67โ is the reigning champ.
And as far as school trends go, itโs harmless, funny, and endlessly confusingโexactly how good slang works.
Today – Why Some Schools Are Banning ‘6-7’ Slang Craze
Subscribe to edCircuit to stay up to date on all of our shows, podcasts, news, and thought leadership articles.




