March 2025 SOLC–Day 26
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We were examining the ways to spell the “cher” sound, with the aim of introducing the “ture” ending. Students were contributing lots of ideas and we had a running list on the board, in two columns:
“ture”
nature
future
adventure
creature
picture
“cher”
teacher
bleacher
pitcher
catcher
Our list was longer, but this gives you an idea. Toward the end of our word gathering, a student called out, “What about amateur?”
“Yes! That definitely has the “cher” sound,” I said. “It comes from a French word, I think, so it’s spelled a different way. I’m not positive how to spell it,” I confessed, “but let me try and see if it looks right.”
amateur
I wrote it on the board and looked at it. “Hmmmm….I think that’s right.”
At that point, another teacher entered the room. We immediately consulted her, and happily she confirmed my spelling. As she left with a few students, I asked the remaining kids, including the student who’d volunteered the word, “Do you know what amateur means?”
They did not, so I explained that an amateur is someone who doesn’t get paid for what they are doing. They usually do it a lot and enjoy it, but aren’t paid. We talked about a professional versus an amateur in sports. The kids nodded sagely.
The next job was for them to write silly tongue twisters on sentence strips using as many words with the “cher” sound as they could. They had a fantastic, giggling time writing things like: “Don’t take a picture of my teacher in a bleacher.” or “The creature in the bleacher took a picture of my teacher.”
Toward the end of our work time, C. came up to me and proudly showed me his creation. It was only then that I realized I hadn’t fully explained the meaning of the word “amateur.” I forgot to include the second part of the definition: “a person who is incompetent or inept at a particular activity.”
I’m still not certain if his sentence was a subtle insult to me, or an indictment of the teacher pay scale. I’m pretty sure, though, that it was just an innocent misunderstanding. Either way it’s hanging on my classroom wall with all the others, loudly proclaiming to all visitors:
Nix the comfort zone 