Ecological theories of ageing suggest that a unique combination of factors such as personal competence and environmental characteristics, influence an older adult's sense of autonomy and optimal level of functioning in society. One does not usually factor in possibilities of acquiring literacy as a crucial aspect of the environmental resources necessary for supporting an older adult’s aspirations. Through a close reading of James Chadwick’s film The First Grader (2010), which narrates Kimani Ng’ang’a Maruge’s struggle for acquiring literacy through attending primary school, amidst much socio-political resistance, I shall be seeking an appropriate heuristic for comprehending an older adult’s desire for literacy and the possibilities of an ‘environment’ reengineered to provide the same, by the older adult himself. My study shall also endeavour to identify the “little narratives” (Beth Daniells, 1999) in the film that critique the grand narrative of literacy promoted by the postcolonial state of Kenya, to highlight inherent ageist assumptions that often unthinkingly exclude the aged from state narratives of progress for “all”.