Frequently Asked Questions
Across the Page hosts English courses for homeschooled high school students.
- Login or purchase a course.
- Access your account. Your student will need to be logged in to participate in a course. When you purchase a course for the first time, you will receive an email with instructions for creating your password and navigating to your account.
- Access your course through your account page, or through the course page.
Expect your student to spend 2-3 hours a week.
No. Across the Page offers asynchronous courses. This means the student works through the lessons and assignments each week at the times that work for your family. Lessons include instructional videos, written materials and interactive practice, written discussions, and assignments.
Each course offers a structured learning experience: a weekly schedule of readings, videos, practice activities, assignments, and written discussion. Students work independently through these lessons, submitting written work to their parent. This approach encourages personal agency — a sense of control and initiative — in students’ learning that can lead to greater success.
Our goal is to find the right balance between providing quality instruction that enables students to work independently, and supporting the parent’s role in your student’s home education.
Parents grade their students’ work.
Across the Page Courses offer support for parents. Different grading approaches, rubrics, and suggestions are offered to help parents choose and implement a grading approach they feel is the best fit for their students.
1. The humanities have a role to play.
Our culture is moving full speed ahead in science and technology. The humanities — history, literature, philosophy — are the forum for informed reflection and discussion about the impact of progress on freedom, relationships, institutions and other aspects of our quality of life. Reading, thinking, and writing well are fundamental tools for conducting this conversation.
2. Civil discussion takes practice.
In an atmosphere where different groups ban different words and thoughts, it’s increasingly difficult for students to figure out what they think on any given subject, much less express it well in discussion. In my college classrooms, students have told me they feel safe to say what they think because they know they will be respected, and they’ll get a chance to hear what others think that might lead them to amend their views. I believe fostering this kind of atmosphere is essential to learning.
3. Building writing confidence is central.
A main goal of courses here is to foster writing confidence by helping students learn to implement a writing process that they can use to approach any writing task. Every student should be equipped to produce writing that reflects critical thinking, audience awareness, effective argument, clarity of expression, and an understanding of how to incorporate others’ views fairly and honestly.
For a more detailed introduction to my approach to instruction, check out the free course for parents on the Courses page: “How to Teach Writing.”
Currently the courses here are for students in 11th and 12th grade. More courses are planned in the future for middle grade students. Eventually we hope to provide literature units for younger children, but these will be designed for parents to administer (rather than for children to access independently online).
Any textbooks or other materials needed will be specified on the course page for each class.
