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School is back in session, which means Gen Alpha and Gen Z are equipped with a new set of memes and internet inside jokes they learned over the summer. Some parents and teachers are confused by them in the same way that “6-7” boggled their minds last year.
High schoolers and middle schoolers across the country are sharing social media posts documenting how these internet memes have manifested in their classrooms – and sometimes, how their teachers are using them to guide class discussions. For the adults who want to know these things, here’s our guide to six of the top trends.
La Peace
In one viral clip, the wildly popular Twitch streamer Kai Cenat is playing “Minecraft” with fellow streamer IShowSpeed. Speed thinks they’ve found diamonds, but Cenat says, “That’s lapis.” His nonchalant cadence makes it sound like, “La peace.”
The soundbite made meme creators imagine Cenat as a wise oracle asking for peace. Soon, AI-generated edits of Cenat wearing a robe and sporting a long white beard surfaced online. There’s just something oddly satisfying in how he says it, and his ancient mystic “La Peace” alter ego has proven to be a funny side character for him – he honored the meme by dressing up in a robe and facial hair for a video that received over 119.5 million views on TikTok.
Kids think they’re seeing La Peace in the classroom now every time a bearded man shows up in a textbook or reading. One TikTok, with over 93,000 likes, was shared by a student responding to his music teacher’s poster of famously bearded producer Rick Rubin: “Why teach got La Peace in the classroom?”
Gucci Morty
In August, an edited image of the cartoon character Morty Smith from “Rick and Morty” wearing a Gucci shirt and skinny jeans went viral online. Originally, the joke was that “Morty is trying something new,” as in a new look, and people were supporting his updated fashion choices as if he were a real person making a change in his life. Netizens began calling him “Gucci Morty.”
Like many modern memes (6-7 is a good example), the joke quickly devolved into contextless references. People randomly included him in memes and video edits, seemingly for no reason, except to highlight that they were in on the joke. Many of these memes include a song with the lyrics, “I can see you want to vibe with me.”
In one viral video, with over 281,000 likes, from TikToker @theoddplayers22, a cardboard cutout of the character is seen in a cafeteria. “Gucci Morty rare sighting at school,” the caption reads.
“My project for biology class,” reads another viral post on TikTok, showing a school assignment with Gucci Morty drawn as an answer. No doubt, Gucci Morty is confusing teachers who are receiving similar responses from their students.
Verity
“Verity” is a yellow smiley-face character who was created by a YouTuber named ThatMob in July. In his short film made in “Minecraft,” Verity is an all-knowing virtual helper (kind of like an AI chatbot) who guides the main character through the game, before becoming a villainous monster.
The video has received over 23 million views, and a catchy song called “It’s Me, It’s Verity” made by a different YouTuber has springboarded the character’s cultural presence. Over the summer, kids who saw smiley faces on billboards would post videos on TikTok, using the Verity song, pointing out the character in real life.
Smiley faces are common in a classroom – and it seems like teachers are embracing the meme’s popularity. One viral TikTok video shared on Sep. 15 shows a teacher playing “It’s Me, It’s Verity” on the board. Another viral post shows a science class printout with a smiling chloroplast on it. “Verity, more like chloroplastity,” it reads.
Quiet on the creek
The viral catchphrase “Quiet on the creek” means to keep something a secret – as if tip-toeing along a creek, so as not to disturb the wildlife. It’s the whispery hook of Saucy Santana’s July song “Quiet on the Creek.” More than 4.9 million TikTok posts use the audio, typically joking about situations that demand secrecy.
Some school teachers aren’t afraid to reference the meme in class. One TikToker, @fashiongvd, showed herself shouting, “Quiet on the creek,” to calm her students down. It initiated a call-and-response with the class, who all whispered back the phrase, mimicking the song. “That Gen Z teacher,” reads the caption of her post, now with over 3.1 million likes.
Funky ehh
TikToker @mr_lindsay_sped, a middle school teacher in Arizona, has made several videos about his students repeating the phrase “Funky ehh.” It comes from a June viral video by YouTuber Cloudxxs – he’s playing the video game “Fortnite” and talking to a younger kid he’s gaming with over voice chat.
The kid starts singing Janet Jackson’s “Someone to Call My Lover,” specifically the line, “We’ll drive a funky car.” But instead of saying, “car,” he says, “ehh,” mimicking a remix of Jackson’s track that’s popular on TikTok, with over 3.5 million likes.
Now children everywhere seem to be saying “Funky ehh” incessantly. It’s driving @mr_lindsay_sped mad, at least, as seen in one of his video skits, with over 8 million views.
I can’t do Nathan
“I can’t do Nathan” is another “Fortnite” meme populating middle school vernacular. In August, YouTuber Blitzerz shared a video of himself playing the game, and a little kid on voice chat said to him, “I can’t do nothing.” But the way the kid pronounced it sounded like “I can’t do Nathan.” To drive the joke home, Blitzerz shows comedian Nathan Fielder when the soundbite occurs.
The kid’s pronunciation has proven infectious, and saying, “I can’t do Nathan,” has become a funny way to loathe schoolwork and the daily student life.
“I go to school, I practice, I gym, I home, I eat, I homework and repeat. I can’t do Nathan,” reads the caption of one viral TikTok video. The teenager who shared it is seen shaking her head while she mouths the original audio.
“She wants someone who’s serious about school. I can’t do Nathan,” reads another viral post with a defiant attitude, softened by the goofy way the “Nathan” kid says his line.