"school of the air" means: Any of the correspondence schools catering for the primary and early secondary education of children in remote and outback Australia.. This is informal slang, common in casual speech, texting and social media, but not appropriate for school work, applications or professional settings. There is no real cause for concern in itself; it is everyday peer vocabulary. If your child uses it, a light comment about audience and register is usually enough — no need to escalate. Context, more than the word, tells you whether to follow up.
school of the air
(Australia, informal) Any of the correspondence schools catering for the primary and early secondary education of children in remote and outback Australia.
Definitions
(Australia, informal) Any of the correspondence schools catering for the primary and early secondary education of children in remote and outback Australia.
"school of the air" means: Any of the correspondence schools catering for the primary and early secondary education of children in remote and outback Australia.. This is informal slang, common in casual speech, texting and social media, but not appropriate for school work, applications or professional settings. There is no real cause for concern in itself; it is everyday peer vocabulary. If your child uses it, a light comment about audience and register is usually enough — no need to escalate. Context, more than the word, tells you whether to follow up.
"school of the air" means: Any of the correspondence schools catering for the primary and early secondary education of children in remote and outback Australia.. Register: informal slang, fine in casual conversation, texting and social media but not in academic essays, business writing or formal speech. A common non-native mistake is to use the word in the wrong register, or to assume one fixed meaning when it is actually polysemous; always check the surrounding register and the audience before producing it yourself. In formal writing, prefer a neutral synonym or a short descriptive phrase, and use this word only when you have heard or read it being used naturally in a comparable context.
Comments
For specific readers
Why is this section here?
Slang is read by different audiences for very different reasons. The For parents view re-explains the term in plain, non-judgemental language so a caregiver can understand what their child means without needing the surrounding subculture. The For English learners view focuses on register (when it's safe to use), formal alternatives, and common mistakes — what a textbook won't teach you.
Used in
Have a better definition?
Add your own interpretation of "school of the air".
🇦🇺About Australian & NZ slang slang
Aussie and Kiwi vocabulary — bogan, daggy, brekkie, sheila, bach, jandals — the whole Antipodean lexicon, including outback dialect, surf and beach culture, and Sydney/Melbourne street slang.
See all Australian & NZ slang slang on Slangora.
Tags
Other words near "school of the air" (S)
Browse all slang words starting with S.
Related terms
People also read
Semantically related
- schoolie59%
(Australia) A schoolteacher.
- outback59%
Characteristic of the most remote and desolate areas of Australia; very remote from urban areas.
- schoolie58%
(Australia) A senior school student, especially a school-leaver, engaged in unsupervised celebrations during schoolies week.
- outback58%
(Australia) The most remote and desolate areas of Australia; the desert and areas too arid for growing crops.
- outback57%
To or towards the most remote and desolate areas of Australia.