For most schools, there is usually some sort of learn-at-home based activity for the summer, but should these lessons be teacher-designed, or student-designed? The idea of summer homework is not a big excitement for most students. Before the school year ends, they should be able to discuss with their teacher or professor what they will be doing. Teachers should allow their students to design learn-at-home summer activities because if they do so, students can have motivation to complete it, and can collaborate together to make it a fair overall project.

Firstly, motivation for anything is key. A lot of students lose motivation throughout the school year, and this is a big factor as to why students do not complete homework at all, or complete it on time. If students are able to self-design a big project that is given over the summer, the motivation will be self associated. They can engage themselves in the topic, and have a drive to complete it because it is something that they chose to get done. Students would be able to pick an idea that they think would make them actually be interested in learning about, and as stated earlier, motivation would come along on its own.

Following motivation, comes the idea that a student-designed project would have to be a fair length, but also accessible, and manageable to complete throughout the summer. Some students may not have technology at home, and classmates can talk amongst themselves to figure out weather they want it to be hands on, or something using technology. Other factors come along, like long periods, or multiple periods of vacation for certain families. Students can collaborate to give a rough time of how long the project will take, so they can plan ahead a time period that they can complete it in. Being able to work together makes students more comfortable with creating and capitalizing on a project. Students should lead the design process, with approval, and some guidance by the teacher.

Lastly, there is probably many people who would argue that a teacher-designed summer project is more beneficial and better put together than a students. This is false, because teachers don't accomodate for anybody but themselves. They can assign project guidelines that can take the entirety of a month out of a students summer, and assign a topic or prompt that nobody in the class is interested in. This drives down motivation levels severely, causing students to keep pushing off this project until the last minute, because nobody is interested in completing it. Yes, teachers know the best way to teach during the school year, and assign well put together projects and homework then, but students need to create and come up with the challenge that they are gonna be completing during the summer.

In conclusion, summer based learning should be designed by the collaboration of students, because it increases the drive and motivation to get it done, and they are able to craft an overall project that is fair not just to themselves, but to everyone in the class. Working together is a trait that many students are gifted with; with certain restrictions put on the project by the teacher, (to not make it too simple or short) lets the students build a project that is the best for them. This idea lets students be successful, and strive for a great experience in the summer with a project that will actually keep them engaged.