Over the summer, students forget a lot of what they learned during the previous year; some even have trouble writing after summer break. This is why some schools have projects over the summer, such as summer reading. These projects should be designed by teachers because the teachers know how to incorporate important aspects of the course that they are teaching into a project, and because the students don't know the material in the course as well as the teachers do.

Teachers know how to introduce their students to new material, or prepare them to be introduced to new material; they are professionals at it. Many teachers have years of experience, or at the very least, they can go to another teacher in their department for help creating an idea for a project. Therefore, they should be able to curate a project that allows their upcoming students to be prepared for their class. While they may not be teaching new material with these projects, they are preparing their students for the rest of the year.

Some may argue that students should create ideas for projects for their fellow students because they themselves are students, and know what would have helped them. However, their teachers know the material better, and have a better understanding of what they can do to ensure the success of their students. Many students don't even remember what they learned at the beginning of the year. If they don't remember what they learned at the beginning of the school year, they can't come up with ideas for a project to introduce them to that material. Students don't want to do homework during the summer. If they were tasked with coming up with a project that introduces upcoming students to the material, they may just create a project that is easy but does not introduce the material well, in order to have less work to do over the summer.

Teachers should design summer projects for their students, because they know what they are teaching and how to incorporate the meaningful ideas from their class into a project, and because they know their curriculum better than their students do. Teachers are the ones ensuring that their students are prepared and know the material, and it is their responsibility to prepare their students for their curriculum. At the end of the day, the students are not the ones getting paid to teach their students.