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At the Covid enquiry yesterday former Prime Minister Boris Johnson spoke of a ‘huge price’ children paid during lockdown. Meanwhile, in our schools today, there’s a new trend among that ‘Generation Alpha’ who started during Covid: the 6/7 phenomenon.

‘6,7’ began online but has morphed into a shared ritual among pre-adolescents and young teenagers, crossing continents and cultures. Speaking the numbers 6,7 in any subject or context in school right now can trigger an unplanned, unchoreographed class shout: ’6,7, 6,7,’ accompanied by two palms up, as if in invocation.

What does it mean? Well, 6,7. Not much, in other words – it’s an in-joke, an affirmation of shared identity and a chance to disrupt lesson plans.

Founder of Methodism, John Wesley had much to say to children of the 18th century: ‘…beware of trifling conversation, particularly with those of your own age. Let your words be few and weighty, such as may minister grace to the hearers.’

I fear Wesley wouldn’t have been impressed by the 6, 7 fad, and many teachers and parents aren’t either. But remember, in our day generation x’ers like me set teeth on edge with our ubiquitous use of the word ‘like’ for pause or emphasis – like, really there is nothing new under the sun.

So my question is, how are we listening to this Generation Alpha now? Not just talking about them retrospectively, in an inquiry – especially those who struggled to get back into the habit of school and even now remain outside its reach. Let us not forget Jesus put a child at the centre and said ‘you must be like this little one to enter the kingdom of heaven.’

Linguist Taylor Jones has called 6/7 a ‘generational shibboleth,’ by which he means a password of sorts. But this is to reference a blood thirsty story in the book of Judges: a fleeing population was forced person by person to pronounce that word, Shibboleth, and if their accent was not right, put to the sword.

Our children do not always find good online or in person role models for how to make common cause across different accents, opinions or nationalities. Maybe a shared joke, a shared cultural moment like ‘6,7’ however ‘trifling’ it seems, is a hopeful trend. Even one that might just ‘…minister grace to the hearers,’ to return to John Wesley’s words.

For this generation, the digital landscape is just as real as any other part of life. They are natives in a world where I’ll always be a foreign migrant. They’ve paid a heavy price on our behalf, in lockdown and since. And, if we’re not always paying as much attention to them as we might, be assured they are paying attention to us.

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