Flexible Families

This can be your reality

With the Great Resignation in full force, the education system is coming under global scrutiny as thousands of workers in the education sector are leaving their jobs. Amongst some of the many reasons for this mass-challenge to the sector is the genuine inflexibility of working hours.

It’s factually clear - the pandemic has created a global shift in the way that we question how we make money and how we teach our kids. Anecdotally, I have seen a pivotal and sincere shift in the way that western society is considering its values and what it truly means to have fulfilling careers and fulfilling lives. Much of the past decade has been egging us on towards the Fourth Industrial Revolution, but change takes time and institutions can take decades to revamp and renew their systems in order to meet society in its modernity, and to instate realistic systems that nurture citizen lives and enhance societal development. At Gaia, we say - perhaps controversially - why don’t we ditch the systems and revolutionise the industry ourselves - and now?

As an expat living in South Asia, I have a unique perspective of seeing this shift happen in real-time. My expat millennial peers are working or seeking flexible jobs that allow them to work remotely and from different time zones, whilst still being able to have a successful career based in Western countries where their myriad credentials and degrees rightly deserve their recognition and pay-grades. The six-month tourist season brings thousands of digital nomads working and travelling through the country and onwards to the rest of Asia, spurring a huge surge in my area of coworking cafes and living spaces catered to this growing clientele. Expats with families are looking for alternative online platforms for education now that their children are playing catch up from the on-again, off-again (or rather in-again, out again) crisis that the pandemic caused traditional in-person schools, and on the other side of it, I’m witnessing more and more tourist families travelling through the country at all times of the year (not just summer holidays and Christmas as expected), trying to find the balance of online schooling, private tuition and homeschooling.

The world is irrevocably changing, and at Gaia, that is exactly what we are a part of; the global shift towards a digital, fully-online work and school environment, pulling together a seamless concept that ties education, work an lifestyle into a harmonious balance for families and educators alike.

Our concept of this flexibility is - well - flexible. Each family unit is unique and has unique sets of requirements. Shift work, disabilities, travel, need for downtime and leisure, talents in sports or the arts that take up considerable extra-curricular time for gifted students, children with challenging home lives or with special educational needs struggling to find their place in school (or even get there in the first place); the list goes on.

At Gaia we are working to create a completely remote online education experience for children from all backgrounds and for families’ needs for flexibility.

We offer:

- An engaging team of teachers from around the world, spanning multiple time zones to provide options for travelling families or families living around the world.

- We are a Cambridge International accredited online school, so the curriculum we offer is internationally-renowned and recognised

- Lessons that are personalised to the individual student - the student sets the pace

- 24/7 access to education portals and course platforms

- Soon to be 24/7 access to tutors for 1:1 support

- Year-around access to education - not confined to term times

- Flexible schedule - take as much time off as you need or study intensively over a shorter period of time

- Compassion and additional flexibility and support for neurodivergent children, and for students with complicated home and school lives - we understand

- Curriculum-free options and core focus on self-directed learning - learn what you want, when you want

- As much or as little tutor time as you need or want - you can learn all by yourself if you like

- Real-time data on your child’s progress, attendance and mood during lessons

- Meeting your child where they are, rather than focus on how old they are, and flexibly across subjects - we can push you ahead to GCSEs at age 13 in English but keep you steady at Year 9 maths and science, or pull back a year if we notice key foundational learnings missing in a subject.

Learning doesn’t have to be grades-based, which can cause significant stress and anxiety for some students

We can and should be living in the world that already exists at our fingertips. The question is, do you want to be a part of it?