Some teachers feel that students should complete a summer project during their break to have them continue their studies even during the summer. These projects should be student-designed to promote a students own creativity and ability to create a project based on the subject they learned. Allowing individuals to make their own projects means they will have the freedom to design the project how they see fit; furthermore, this may even benefit the teacher by showing that their student has absorbed enough information from the class, that they can detail an entire project about the curriculum without ever receiving any instruction from the teacher. Students perform better when they are able to dictate how their project is written and designed. if their was a strict code detailing what the project must include, the student may produce a worse report than they would otherwise.

Given creative freedom, someone would also have to apply more of their own knowledge of the subject. Having to adhere to a strict code however, would mean they can simply research the specific topics the teacher asked for without needing to apply much of their own effort. If the enforcer of this project wrote a rigid outline describing exactly what a learner must write about, the report could very plausibly be submitted as a mindless paper with no true interest taken in it. The individual could provide exactly what the teacher asks for, no more, no less. One may even be rewarded for this work since they did all that was asked of them.

All someone would need to do for a report, if it has strict rules, is follow those rules entirely while putting minimal effort. People could be given a high grade for doing as the report said, even though they turned in a mediocre paper with no real care in the subject matter. There wouldnt be a way of giving this mediocre paper the grade it deserves, because the student did what they were told and they took advantage of that loophole. To avoid this mindless compliance, students should instead be given total and complete freedom on their report as long as they apply everything they've learned throughout the school year. This would be a double edged sword, while they are free to design however they want, they must also put in more effort because they will not get any help or instruction from the teacher. Some may believe that a teacher-designed project is a better alternative because if the teacher has a specific rubric, they can help the student by giving them a code to follow. It should be the opposite, They have helped their students all year, now it is time for them to finish one last report by themselves, to prove they can retain this information without any outside help. The teacher has finished their job, they have taught the entirety of the curriculum to their learners, and now those learners must utilize all the knowledge given to them in one project, on their own.

Many students fail because they are given strict instructions with no room for variation. This makes them feel that they only have an obligation to simply know certain ideas. In turn, this causes them to memorize specific vocabulary words or the answers to certain questions. Instead, people should be encouraged to memorize the concepts themselves. Take in all the information regarding an idea to truly become knowledgeable in the subject as a whole, as opposed to learning the answer to specific questions so you can pass a test later and forget about it almost immediately after. This is exactly what this final grade is: a test.

A test with one chief purpose: to display one's complete knowledge and understanding of the class they have partaken in for the past year. This should not just be something you can memorize a few vocabulary words and write down a couple notes for. It would prove absolutely nothing if you can simply study for this project and write down what has been memorized. To really take on this endeavor, the students will have to include everything they have been taught over their four quarters of experience. They must be graded on how much they really paid attention and how much effort they put into the class.

To conclude, summer projects should be student-designed to allow students more freedom to dictate their project, which may cause some to submit a report worthy of a much higher grade than they might have otherwise received. It would also prevent mindless compliance stemming from a feeling that they have an obligation to adhere to a strict set of rules a teacher has laid out for them, leading to an equally as careless report. Given creative freedom, A project will be much more personalized and thoughtful, and will require more effort to be put into it. This will all prove that the person will be able to properly retain all of this information outside of school, whether it be during summer break, or after they have graduated completely. In everyday life, they wont have someone who can immediately tell them all of the answers, A summer break with no external guidance will prepare them for this reality.