Homework over the summer break? No way! Many students believe we shouldn't have work over the break, however it is important to continue learning. Projects over the break should be student-based because, it allows them to chose a topic they will enjoy, they will continue to learn about new things and excel their knowledge, and lastly it will keep them occupied so they aren't constantly on their phones.

Projects over the summer may not be fun, however allowing the students to chose what they want to do will be more enjoying then a teacher-based project. Student-based projects don't always have to be that typical 8 page essay that students always dread. Students have the opportunity to go on an adventure and have fun with the project. Exploring something new is always the best way to learn. I have always believed that the journey is much better then the destination or final product. What matters most is that you are having fun while learning. This situation came up for me a while back. Over the summer I was given a science project. I was allowed to pick anything! I was so excited. I decided to learn about fish and how the enviornement affects them. Given the option of doing something I chose allowed me to venture out and explore. I decided to go to the aquarium. Being able to be let free with this project allowed me to learn something new that I may have never learned so much information about.

Student-based projects over the summer will allow the student to take the matter into their own hands. If it is something they are chosing, they will be more interested in that topic which will lead to the deeper exploration. I'm not a huge reader, so when I am given a book project on a book that doesn't intrigue me, I typically won't enjoy the reading which will cause me to put minimal effort into my project. It is not that I don't want to get a good grade, its that I didn't understand or relate to the book as if I was given the opportunity to chose my own book. It is a whole different story when it comes to the student being able to chose the book. If I was allowed to chose any book to read and complete a project on, it would allow me to research books that relate to me and my life. After reading the book, I will then want to show that I loved the book, causing me to show specfics that may have not been talked about in the book. I may have liked the book so much that I did research on the author and his personal life which would give me an enormous amount of examples I could write about/ talk about in my project.

Oh those phones! How many times over the summer have your parents asked you to put your phone down and do something? Trust me, it has happened to us all. Having these student-based projects will set deadlines for the students to finish the project, however they can have fun with it. Going along with the previous reasons, student-based projects will keep those dang phones out of the kids hands. We all know the parents will love this! Students who are given the opportunity to learn about something they like will keep them up off the couch, moving, and learning about something new. Allowing them to chose their own topic for the project will allow for an idea to spark in their mind, causing them to go seek out that information. Over the summer, I typically want to relax and hang out. There have been many times where I have gotten carried away with the time and caught myself on the couch all day. Giving the student-based project will divert them from becoming lazy and allowing them to go out and find something fun to learn about.

Summer is a time for a break, don't get me wrong. However we can't go that long break with out refreshing our mind of common knowledge. Giving these student-based projects will allow for students to continue to have fun over the summer as well as learning. Going a long time without learning often causes people to forget common sense and knowledge. This is why it's important to still learn over the summer. Lastly, allowing these students to have the leeway will let them go out and explore the world and not be so tunnel vissioned into the TV and their phones. You are always learning something new, however it always makes you happier when you learn about something you enjoy.