If you’ve spent time in our classrooms or walked the hallways recently, you may have heard it: students chanting, almost like a secret code, “Six-seven! Six-seven!” Teachers raise their eyebrows, students laugh, and parents scratch their heads. What does it mean? The surprising answer: nothing at all. “Six-seven” is just the latest viral social media trend—a catchy sound clip, a number repeated for no reason. Yet suddenly it is everywhere.
At first glance, it’s easy to dismiss this as harmless fun. After all, children have always had their fads and inside jokes. But in the context of a classical education, moments like this offer a teaching opportunity. They remind us that in a world saturated by social media, it is easy—and dangerously tempting—for young minds to follow the crowd without pausing to consider what they are saying or why they are saying it.
Classical education seeks to form the whole person. Central to that mission is helping students learn to reason and to engage with ideas thoughtfully. Repeating a meaningless phrase simply because “everyone else is doing it” runs counter to this aim. It’s a small, seemingly harmless example of a larger cultural habit: the tendency to imitate without reflection.
The “six-seven” chant illustrates how social media spreads ideas—not because they are true or good, but because they are catchy. It rewards imitation more than insight. When children join in simply because something is popular, they practice conformity rather than discernment. Over time, this pattern can make it harder for them to think independently, to express ideas that are unpopular, or to recognize what is truly worth their attention.
As parents and educators, we have an opportunity to guide them. We can model curiosity and reflection by asking thoughtful questions. Why are you repeating this? What does it mean? Is it worth your attention? Encourage your children to notice how ideas spread and to ask why some endure while others fade away. These conversations help them grow into people who think clearly and stand firm amid passing trends.
We should also recognize our own vulnerability. Adults, too, can be swept up by the power of repetition—from slogans to viral stories to fashionable opinions. When we slow down and think before we repeat, we show our children that deliberate speech is not a burden but a mark of integrity.
At a classical school, we value the voices of our students. But we also want them to understand that a voice has meaning only when it is genuinely their own. The “six-seven” fad will fade as quickly as it arrived, but the lesson it offers will endure. It reminds us why we read deeply, discuss openly, and study the great works of the past: to learn the difference between noise and meaning, imitation and truth.
Let’s use this moment—however silly—as an opportunity to teach our children that words carry weight, that thought gives speech its power, and that real belonging grows from conviction rather than conformity. When we help them think for themselves, we prepare them to meet life with discernment and purpose. In the end, the measure of education is not how well our children can echo what they hear, but how clearly they can see, reason, and speak for themselves.
Torches Up!
Mr. Michael Rose
Headmaster
Mr. Michael Rose, Headmaster
Mr. Rose has taught various courses at Brown University, Cincinnati Moeller, and The Summit Country Day School. As a part of his degree work in education, Mr. Rose’s research interests included the Great Books curriculum, the Paideia teaching method, and the “effects of emerging digital technology on student reading, writing, and researching.” Read More