Page 5 - Education Supplement February 2026

EDITOR’S LETTER

Different paths to

learning

ducation often looks neat on paper. We speak openly about bullying, particularly the quieter
Clear routes. Shared expectations. forms that often go unnoticed until damage has already
EThe sense that if you follow the plan, been done. We look at why teaching children how to think is
things will work out. not an academic extra, but a life skill that supports learning,
relationships, and resilience. We explore the gap between how
For some children, they do. For others, children learn and how schools are structured, and the cost of
families quietly begin to wonder why effort ignoring effort, regulation, and internal strain simply because
no longer leads to ease. they are harder to measure.

One of the most persistent assumptions This issue also gives space to children who are bright yet
in education is that learning should look misunderstood, whose uneven profiles do not fit neatly into
the same for everyone. Yet across South conventional systems, and to the uncomfortable truth that
Africa, parents are discovering that no inclusion, when poorly designed, can isolate rather than protect.
single system can meet the full range of Finally, we follow learners beyond school, examining what
how children think, develop, and engage happens after matric when formal support often disappears,
with the world. and why continuity matters long after the school gates close.

In this education feature, we look at Taken together, these features reflect a simple truth. There are
a selection of South Africa’s schools, many valid paths through education. Choosing differently is not
each offering a distinct approach to a failure, and it is rarely impulsive. It is often the result of paying
learning. Some are firmly rooted in strong close attention to a child who is telling you, in small ways, that
academic tradition. Others have built something no longer fits.
flexibility into how learning is structured,
assessed, and supported. What unites When learning fits, children do more than cope.
them is not a single model, but a clear
understanding of the learners they serve They grow.
and the environments those learners need
in order to stay well while they learn.

Alongside these school profiles, this edition
explores the realities many families are
navigating without a roadmap. We look at
how academic accommodations change
a child’s school experience by removing
barriers rather than lowering expectations.
We examine what happens when learning
breaks down, and why alternative and
hybrid models are increasingly thoughtful Nicola Killops
responses rather than last resorts.

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