One time in the 5th grade me and my classmates were given an assignment that we were told to design by ourselves. We were told to choose any format to present our projects and allowed to present it on any topic as long as it related to science. As the deadline for the project drew near many students talked about how they had not completed the project because they lacked direction. As a result many students received bad grades and teachers struggled to grade individual projects on the same scale due to varying formats and topics. Many schools are questioning whether summer assignments should be designed by students or teachers. Mandatory summer projects should be designed by teachers to guarantee that students have a clear understanding of requirements and continue to learn over the break.

Educators best understand the curriculum students need to keep up with. In the majority of schools different departments are run by teachers working together to design the courses. If summer projects are designed by the same teachers then schools can ensure that the assignments will help students prepare for upcoming classes.

Additionally, these projects can give a general idea of how the class will be taught and how difficult the course will be. This way students can get a head start on the material and have a complete understanding of what will be required.

When designing tasks teachers can ensure that students are given enough work to learn. Over the summer of my freshman year I was given a project where students were allowed to choose which book they read and write a report on it. Many students chose short novels and finished their assignments in only a day. This caused any potential learning to be lost as students mostly forgot about the assignment after completing it. Projects designed by teachers can ensure that students do enough work over their break to continue learning outside of school and that the work matches the level of the class.

Teachers can give additional support and instruction on assignments they designed. When projects are created by students teachers may struggle to help them with questions they may have. In the English department at my school teachers all work together to design large projects so that anyone in the department can answer questions and help students. This leads to a better understanding among students but still allows them to create unique and individual products that promote growth.

Projects assigned over long breaks should be designed by teachers because teachers can better understand the curriculum, ensure that students learn, and provide additional support on assignments. In the future more assignments could be created that allow students to get a glimpse at upcoming material. Long breaks that often cause students to lose touch with the rhythm of school can be turned into opportunities to prepare. We should all encourage the furthering of our education by demanding that schools around us help students learn over break and require teachers to design summer projects for students.