What is “quality learning” to a child? (Elisheba Khayeri, Kate Anderson, Brookings)

“I’m wearing my older brother’s uniform from when he first started school,” thinks a child on his first day of school. “He walks with me into the school gates, where there are boys and girls as far as the eye can see, all dressed alike and running in different directions. One bigger boy bumps into me and I begin to feel afraid—where am I supposed to go? My brother walks me to the door of baby class, where a lot of kids my age are sitting in desks with pencils and writing in books. I don’t have a pencil or a book. I don’t know anyone in the classroom. The teacher points to a seat in the front of the classroom, and I sit down and try to concentrate on what she is saying. The classroom is hot, and I miss my grandmother and my little sister. I miss my home. When the teacher turns her back to write on the board, I slip out the door and sit outside the classroom, unable to control my tears.”

http://www.brookings.edu/blogs/education-plus-development/posts/2016/03/28-quality-learning-khayeri-anderson