Duncomble Primary School

I had submitted a post not too long ago regarding the volunteer scheme at LSE which allowed me to explore the education system in UK.

I was conveniently assigned to a school which happens to be a stone's throw from my house.

The school, Duncombe Primary School, has its own website.

And so, I go there every Monday to help some kids in their reading.

The kids I work with are under this RML programme, which promotes literacy through phonics.

Being silently observant, I notice that kids here tend to look at the pictures in the book before they start reading and they ask questions that wouldn't have crossed my mind at their tender age.

As I was reading "The Gingerbread Man" with Selda, a 9 year-old, slightly-moody-though-interesting girl, we got to the part where the old couple was chasing the gingerbread man.

And she asked, " Why are they chasing the gingerbread man? Why don't they just bake a new one? "

I was willing to come up with an answer, maybe because the couple only had so much flour to make one gingerbread man or this was the best gingerbread man the couple had ever made.

She didn't give much thought to it an continued reading.

And there were 3 other kids, Jamil, Ashley, and Reese, who read a book each with me.

It is kind of challenging to listen and to correct the kids, and plus, I have to be extra clear to them, minus the Malaysian accent.

They tend to obey you strictly, so pronunciation has to be perfect.

The part I like most about this is when they start asking random questions.

Till then.