Summer, a time for sleeping in, enjoying the sunshine, and living the best life possible, is also a time where students tend to forget all of their learned information from school. Although summer vacation is a much needed break, it is also a time where information from previous year can be deleted. Some schools, because of this lack of knowledge retention, want to provide required summer projects in order to assure that students continue to learn over their long vacation. These projects should be teacher-designed, rather than student-designed, because it would ensure nobody falls behind, the correct curriculum is followed, and that grading is equal for all students.

Unfortunately, in many schools around the country, some students get left behind in their studies. Whether it be the teacher not adhering to their needs or just a lack of understanding without help to understand, some students just are not at the same level as everyone else. A teacher-designed project would allow all students to have the same opportunity for success. In this case, students will not have to stress about whether or not their project is good enough because everyone will have the same starting point. Some may argue that this would decrease individuality among students and discourage creativity, but it would, in fact, have the opposite effect. Since everyone is starting at the same point, students are encouraged to take the project any way they want and can show off their creativity to stand out from the rest of students. This strive for success to be the best among their peers would also make sure that no student underachieves. With a set teacher driven project, students can no longer just perform the easiest task at hand and call that their project. Teachers can set a baseline of what they want in their project. Since this project is in place to keep learning over summer, a teacher lead project would ensure that everyone is ready for the upcoming school year knowing the same amount as their peers, because they followed the curriculum their teacher prepared for them.

A teacher-designed project would put the teachers in charge of what their students learn and not the students in charge of what they learn, and that is their job, to teach. Teachers have the freedom to choose what they want for their students to learn over break; therefore, students will not get off topic and learn the wrong material. The freedom of a student-designed project may be too much for some and with this extended freedom, some students may go completely off the scope of the project. Teachers can decide for their students what they want done and how they want it done. The knowledge that their students are doing the right thing will put teachers at ease and be at peace knowing that when the school year restarts, all of their pupils will be on the right path and can pick off right where they left off before break.

The whole purpose of the summer project is to continue learning, and inside the school, projects are graded. Grading should be no different for these summer projects. With a same baseline for the project teachers are easily able to see who is achieving in the class and who may need some help. If students were to design their projects, some of them may choose easier projects than others and in this case grading would not be equal for everyone. The baseline would be created by an actual rubric with what is desired to be learned by students rather than students deciding what they want to have graded. The actual rubric would create fairness in grading and make completely sure that no student is getting an unequal advantage. With the learned project information, teachers can test and provide other sources for grading in class once school starts up again. Teachers will not have to worry about any one student not knowing what is going on and therefore can provide common tests and worksheets for students to do. For example in a biology class, one student could do a project on animal cells while another does a project on the DNA of a strawberry, it would be unfair to provide the same tests for these students. With a common project, common material is tested on and the teachers can be sure of this.

All in all a teacher-designed project would greatly benefit all at hand, not just students and not just the teachers. With a teacher-designed project students will all be at an equal level, with equal understanding, and equally graded. If teachers are paid to teach in schools, why should it suddenly switch to students teaching themselves over summer? Teachers are meant to teach, and students are meant to learn and this should remain the same all year round.