Rethinking early learning foundations

It is just past 10 in the morning when Meeta* begins her lesson. Children sit in neat rows, notebooks open. On the blackboard, she has written a short paragraph. She reads it aloud, her finger moving under each word. “Now repeat after me.” The class responds together, their voices rising in unison. A few children are a fraction late; they watch her lips before joining in. “What is the name of the boy in the story?” Several hands go up. She gestures for the whole class to answer. The answer echoes back and she nods. “Now copy the story in your notebooks.”  At the back of the room, a smaller group of grade 1 children—part of the same multigrade class—sit with their slates. Meeta walks over to them and begins explaining a math problem. The older children continue writing. One girl looks up briefly, then lowers her eyes. Two children whisper in their home language before falling silent.  As the morning unfolds, there is little extended conversation, little writing composed