Though we have moved into a covid new-normal in Australia, with restrictions lifting and people returning to work and education facilities, many are still adjusting. Unfortunately, in some cases, some Australian students are still having their education interrupted by ongoing covid safety actions and restrictions.
While the corporate world has made a relatively smooth transition to hybrid work scenarios, students find the ongoing disruptions particularly difficult to work around, with some experiencing significant negative impacts on their educational performance.
This ongoing dilemma is leading many parents and students to commit to a full-time homeschooling system in a bid to ease disruptions and allow students to have a consistent education experience and pathway.
Read on to learn more about the increased interest in homeschooling, and find out why Lions Education is paving the way for next-generation homeschooling in NSW.
The changing tide of homeschooling
The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted homeschooling rates seeing a historic rise in homeschool registration. However, many are unaware that homeschooling was already rising before the pandemic hit. Figures were steadily climbing from 2011 to 2022 across the whole continent from just under 10,000 to over 20,000 after the 2020 Covid lockdowns.
Yet despite this trend, old negative stigmas surrounding homeschooling still seem to be hanging tight, even though data shows that many students are not only adapting well to a homeschooling model but are also thriving.
Why do people have a negative opinion of homeschooling?
While homeschooling requires careful planning and structure to promote optimal academic performance, many criticisms of homeschooling are based on outdated tropes rather than facts.
Some of these common misconceptions include:
- Lack of social interaction
- Student isolation
- Absence of curriculum structure
- Lack of educational discipline
- and more
However, the data does not support the concerns for what is essentially just old wives’ tales.
Homeschooling myths debunked
Below we will address these common misconceptions about homeschooling and why they are concerns that should be left in the past where they belong.
Lack of social interaction
Lack of social interaction is one of the most common misconceptions about homeschooling. While some students perform well in a traditional class setting, many find the distractions of a classroom setting disruptive.
In addition, in today’s overcrowded classrooms, individual student-to-teacher interaction often offers insufficient support for struggling students to reach their full academic potential.
The truth is, homeschooled students still have plenty of social interactions, including:
- Sports activities
- Family events
- Playtime with friends
- Independent adolescent social time
- Co-home study groups and communities
- and more
In a homeschool model, more time is spent one-on-one with adults, which can improve student maturity. In addition, homeschooled students often gain more real-world experience during daytime field trips, whether pre-organised or by simply going on daily errands with parents, better preparing them for “real-life” after school.
Socialising outside of an academic setting also allows young people to fully engage with their peers during social time rather than interacting when they are mentally and socially burnt out after a full school day.
If anything, homeschooling allows a child to fully focus on their academic studies without the distraction of other disruptive students—the quality of education, more often than not, trumps quantity.
By joining a homeschooling community and arranging incremental social co-homeschooling days with other families, you are also offsetting any concern of social isolation. In addition, parents are also able to negate common negative school social issues like bullying.
Absence of curriculum structure and discipline
This common misconception about homeschooling makes it seem like no legal or educational standards need to be met when a parent chooses to homeschool their child.
All homeschooled students in Australia must be registered with a clear educational plan and curriculum. The national syllabus for Australian students must be adhered to in any schooling model. All states and territories besides Victoria and Tasmania use the Australian syllabus guide as a template.
Our team at Lion’s Education offers a clear curriculum and support services for at-home and online study, ensuring all students’ educational and personal needs and requirements are met.
We also help parents with their pedagogical skills, ensuring the students get the discipline and focus required to excel in their home studies.
With so much freedom, online support, and the ability to tailor an educational pathway for each student’s unique needs, it is no wonder more people are turning to new-generation homeschooling in NSW.
Lions Education: Pioneering next-generation homeschooling in NSW
Our education specialists at Lions Education are dedicated to helping pupils, educators, and parents discover a homeschooling model that allows the students to thrive and excel in an optimised homeschooling environment.
Some of the key benefits of becoming part of our Lion’s community include:
- Better quality education in less time
- Education tailored for the individual
- Potential for greater academic success
- More time spent on the development of useful skills
- More mental energy for learning
- Reduced stress for parents and students
- No uniforms and other outdated educational traditions
- Earlier career development
- Better family connections
- and more
For all expressions of interest, fill in our online reservation to enrol form, and one of our representatives will contact you promptly.