Summer projects are commonly used to keep students minds engaged and active during the long summer break away from school.

Although this seems like a big burden to students who are looking to relax during the summer after a long school year, it is crucial to keep students minds thinking about school so they are not blindsided by the large wrok load they recieve during the school year. A big question about these summer projects is who should have a say in the design and makeup of the assigned summer projects. I believe summer projects should be designed by teachers, but students should also have a say in the topic of the assigned projects to maximize summer productivity and prepare students for what is to come.

My main reasoning for why teachers should be the ones to design and have the final say in what project is to be completed during the summer is that they know what students will be expected to do during the upcoming school year. This means they can utilize the summer projects to help groom each student to be prepared for what is expected of them during the school year. If, for example, I were taking a chemistry class my senior year and it is the summer leading up to it, I would want my assigned project to help me understand what will be expected of me in that class. The summer project would be able to help me prepare for the school year and I would have a good understanding of what the class will be like if the project is designed correctly. School teachers have the best knowledge of what will be taught and expected of each student, so they have all the tools to design a perfect project that prepares students for the upcoming course. The summer projects can also be a good introduction into what will be learned in the upcoming year, which allows teachers to jump right into teaching as opposed to giving a long introduction to the course over an average of about 2 weeks. This gives students a chance to have an early understanding of topics that will be taught during the year, and can lead to better grades due to a deeper knowledge of topics as opposed to coming in cold and seeing the curriculum for the first time ever.

Although it is important for teachers to design and assign the proper summer project, it is also important that students have a say in what they will be working on in their time off from school and stress.

It is extremely difficult to stay engaged in a project during the summer because everyone has their mind set on seeing friends and going on vacation since it's supposed to be a break from learning. This is why I believe that it is vital for students to have some freedom in their summer projects to personalize it and make it about something they enjoy. I know from personal experiance that when I am assigned a summer project that is dull and sparks no pesonal interest, it makes the project dreadful. This makes the summer projects very difficult to complete because for kids it's hard to set our mind to something and work hard at it if we are not passionate about it. Obviously if students had complete control over the summer assignments, they wouldn't be very productive for anyone. Because of this, I feel the best way to assign a summer project is by teachers giving students a structured outline explaining what needs to be completed, while still giving students the freedom to make it about something they find interesting. This helps spark creativity in students while also providing them with the tools to be able to succeed in the upcoming school year.

My last reason on why there should be a shared responsibility between students and teachers when assigning summer projects has to do with the completion of the assignment. As a student, I can say first hand that many students put off assignments till the last week of summer because no one wants to be working incredibly hard after doing it for an entire school year. That being said, there are many ways that teachers can find a common ground in what interests students but still benefits them.

Despite popular beliefs, there are actually ways to make summer assignments enjoyable and not have them stress out students with an overwhelming workload. For example, If a teacher was assigning a math project to be completed over the summer, they could incorporate real life activities for students to go into the real world and collect data for a certain topic, and then have them form a project on their findings. This keeps students happy because although they still have to make a project, they are making it based off of their own research and findings in the real world.

I believe this would maximize the completion of the product as it is interesting to students and keeps them being creative so it doesn't feel as much like a stressfull school assignment, but more like a personal project.

In conclusion, it is important for teachers to have the overall responsibility to design the summer projects due to the fact that they know what the students need to prepare for, and can help them realize what will be expected during the school year. This will also benefit both the students and teachers in that the kids will already have an understanding of subjects, leading to less time wasted by teachers giving introductions.

The student-teacher collaboration will help keep students interested in what they are completing, and help them have a mental drive to complete the assigned tasks, while also guiding them in the right direction to begin the next school year.