Learning is a complex product of schooling, upbringing and ethos. This study examines, with a critical perspective, the crucial role played by the home-school overlap in the lives of Muslim girls. It describes and analyses the ethos surrounding their impoverished lives and education. A hermeneutic interpretation is offered for a stock phrase they frequently use to represent their lives and aspirations. This analysis takes us to deeper, hidden layers of the girls' own discourse. By focusing on the learner's perspective, the study captures a conceptual inadequacy of prevailing policies dealing with girls' education.