Relaxing poolside on a sunny day after going for a swim in the cool water. Most summer days can be drawn up to this scenario, but as kids grow older they start to become accountable for Summer assignments. Schools find these assignments necessary in order for students to experience some sort of learning while they are not attending school.

Although, it is difficult to decide whether assignments designed by students or teachers would be more beneficial to prepare for the upcoming school year. Summer assignments should be teacher-designed so that students are familiar with next year topics, students are not worried about coming up with their own assignments, and teachers are able to assess students accordingly.

People would argue that Summer assignments should be student-designed because some students get away with not doing any work when they are designed by teachers. The issue with teacher-designed assignments is that they tend to be the same to give everyone equal opportunity, so students reach out to others to get answers to the assignments and do not actually work out the questions themselves. However, while it may seem like a problem for students to 'cheat' on their assignments it is not that big of a deal because it is not during the actual school year. Also, even if students are just copying down answers they can still retain knowledge from seeing the answers and connecting them to the questions. Understanding how to get the answer or where it comes from still helps students problem solve and interact with the question.

To start off with, Summer assignments should be teacher-designed to let students be comfortable with upcoming topics. For instance, a math student who is going into their second year of Algebra receives a packet covering topics they learned in their first year of Algebra because they carry into the second year. Lessons can always connect to something students have been taught in the past, whether it be yesterday or years ago. With these assignments teachers can provide students with problems highlighting what information is most valuable to remember going into the next year. It is very helpful for students to have a clear objective of what they need to work or focus on.

Moving on, Summer assignments should be teacher-designed so students do not have to stress about finding their own idea. For example, if the assignment is to read a book over the break and the teacher assigns their students read a specific one so they can teach lessons based on that book during the school year. Having the teacher assign certain books or give a few options helps students by reducing their selection and might make it easier than choosing from a wide variety.

During the Summer most kids want to focus on traveling or spending time with friends, so the less they have to think about school the better. With this solution, all students have to do is read the book while teachers get to test students however they like with the lessons regarding the book.

Finally, Summer assignments should be teacher-designed to let teachers assess each student's skills. For instance, if an English teacher gives their students the same writing assignment then they are able to see the difference in how each student handles that sort of task. Teachers can tell a lot about their students from their work like how they approach the given task, their assets, their disadvantages, and how much effort they put in. It will assist in teachers' decisions on what they need to teach or focus on to help students improve individually and overall.

In conclusion, teachers should design Summer assignments so that students can be familiar with upcoming topics, not worry about finding their own assignments, and teachers can assess students' skills accordingly. I encourage schools to let their Summer assignments be teacher-designed so that students can be prepared for the next school year.