Summer projects are a painful, but necessary experience that many students have to face as they continue their academic careers in middle and high school. Teachers understand that without these projects, students could lose much of their academic progress that they have made throughout the year, and so these projects become necessary evils that make Summer slightly less enjoyable. However, while these projects are often necessary, there is some debate as to how they should be executed. Some argue for a student-based project experience, while others say that teachers should be the ones in charge of these assignments. However, the latter option would be easier for everyone and more effective, providing an organized project environment that would hold students accountable for their work.

With teacher-based Summer projects, both students and teachers would suffer less stress and be able to more easily complete their tasks. For students, having specific instructions on what to do for a project removes one of the hardest obstacles that student-based projects would make them face: actually designing a project from start to finish. When students have instructions, they already know what to do, and they avoid the stress of having to figure it out on their own. Summer projects should be as stress free as possible for students, and to achieve this goal, the teacher-based project is preferable. In addition, the teacher-based project would put less stress on the teacher. With a student-based project, the teacher would have a difficult experience while trying to grade each of the projects, because the parameters and expectations of the project would be less specific. Thus, the teacher would not be able to objectively assess the quality of the work that the students are actually doing, and they would have to take an individual approach to each project. With a teacher-based project, the teacher gives the students specific instructions, making grades easier to give because the teacher can assess each project with the same expectations and objectively give each student the grade they deserve. Teacher-based projects make the lives of both students and teachers easier, and they should be utilized in order to make Summer and the start of the school year less stressful.

In addition, the teacher-based approach makes the start of the school year organized, with all students having learned or reviewed the same topics over their summer. For example, when a teacher wants students to review mathematics over the summer, they should provide a worksheet of review questions for students to complete. With this type of project, students all review the same exact questions, putting themselves all in similar places academically when the school year starts. If that same teacher tells their students to simply complete some mathematics questions over the summer, without giving them specific questions, students will all review different topics; some will review the more advanced topics, and some will review less advanced ones. When the school year rolls around, the students will all be in different places. This would make things harder for both the teacher and student. The teacher would have to review all of the topics in detail because otherwise, they would be leaving some students behind. With a teacher-based project, the teacher has the ability to make sure that all students are on the same level at the start of the school year. This makes the start of the year much more organized and puts students in a strong position to continue learning without being hindered by the different levels of review done by their peers.

However, some may say that the student-based project is beneficial because it gives students the opportunity to learn about topics that actually interest them. While this is one of the biggest arguments for the student-based project, it is based on faulty logic. If a student is genuinely interested in a topic, then they will learn about it without being prompted. Student-based projects ask students to come up with a topic that they are interested in, but they limit that topic to a certain subject barrier, such as English, Mathematics, Science, or History. Many students are not interested by anything that is limited to these subjects. Thus, this idea that student-based projects inspire a greater creativity and trigger a passion for learning is flawed. Some students may end up finding something that they are truly interested in, but many others are left struggling to come up with a topic and doing the bare minimum to complete a project based on that topic.

Furthermore, students are more easily held accountable for their work with teacher-based projects. If every student has to complete the same steps, then they will have a greater tendency to actually do the work. There are no loopholes, and all students will have to do the same amount of work. This lessens the workload for those who naturally overachieve, and holds the rest of students accountable for their work. Overall, it makes things equal for students, setting a good precedent for all students to work hard and achieve what they need to be successful.

The teacher-based project is beneficial for both students and teachers in many ways, and it is vastly superior to the student-based project. It leaves all students with an equal review of their subjects, and makes teachers able to start the school year without having to worry about differences in the academic knowledge of their students. This type of summer project should be the most implimented in order to give students and teachers a good environment for success at the start of the school year.