In various educational systems across the country, students are required to complete summer projects that help them retain infromation they would have most likely forgotten if not for these projects. Not only this but it is an efficient way introduce new concepts students will likely see in the forecoming school year. This idea is of sound measure. Students are said to forget a significant amount of material they learned in school in just the few months they are out on break. But how can teachers really maximize their students' fullest potential? What can they do to assure that the students are learning in the most befitting way possible? The answer lies not in them but in their students. As teachers begin to conjure certain summer assignments, they should look to reach out to thier students for advice. Having student-designed summer projects should be used in lue of teacher-designed summer projects because it creates a learning enviroment that is not only efficient but specifically designed to maximize potential.

During the summer, the last thing that a student wants on their mind is to complete a summer assignment. And who can blame them? It is most likely not in anyones best interest to want to sit inside a house where work is waiting for them. However, if teachers can somehow make their assignments more interesting and incite active engadgemnt, then students can have the value of imrproving their cerebral capabilities in an enjoyable learning enviroment. There are numerous ways a teacher can get their student's input on a summer assignemnt. They can have a digital survey, one of the most commonly used tools to get basic information on a topic. This is a helpful strategy when just looking to improve the quality of an assignemnt, or get a taste of what might be expected. This strategy, however, is still very teacher oriented and lacks student control. If this is to broad and/or unfufilling, then teachers can avert to another method such as student drafts. This is where a student can individually submit a draft of a summer project by outlining their opinions and suggestions that may benefit all students. Here, a teacher can observe first hand what a student would see most appropriate for a summer assignemnt. This is still a very subjective method of student input; while the goal is to assure that all students are learning during the break, this particular student may not be speaking for everyone else. In other words, a poll may predict the general concensus of a majority but it still can be inaccurate and non-representative. Another, more objective strategy a teacher can use is what is called a class concensus. Here, the class (or any student body) organizes thier ideas together, to come to a final or multiple conclusions. This is not the most practical way but it is non-biased and very effective in a factor analysis situtation. This method is the most effective way to implement a student-designed summer project in the absence of bias and non-representation.

Teacher-designed summer projects can be counterintutive, as they fail to not only improve the compulsive tendencies prominent in these projects, but also lack incentives to promote active engadgment. In other words, the only way a student can activley learn is to provide a setting where they want to learn. To reinforce a point made earlier, it is summer time. No student will bow down and work for the sake of working; they need to be molded and guided into a mindset where they can put time aside to want to engadge in a summer assignemnt. While a student-designed summer project is the most effective way to assure continuous learning throughout the summer, it is ultimatley the teacher's job to be the enforcer, the head hunter. Students can be heavily influenced by the actions and tendencies of thier teachers. By what they do, what they say, how they talk to people, and so on and so forth. There is no absolute way to teach and in fact there is no absolute way to do anything. This very fact alone demonstrates the importance of teachers' ability to shape thier students into fine men and women through their methodology. Just as it is important to base educational strategies on the strengths of the students in the classroom, it is equally important to have that same impact outside of school through summer assignemnts and projects.