Education is, without a doubt, a necessity in order to ensure a successful life- and it is the school's job to give the students exactly that. During the school year, they do so with classes and homework, but what about when school is already over? Many schools opt to let the students rest during these times, but some schools decide to take it up another step with summer projects. How the projects should be conducted, though, has been a matter of debate recently, and many are taking different positions and stances on the issues, largely divided into two different sides: teacher-directed and student-directed. The teacher-directed side believes that the teachers should take the lead and decide what they expect from the project, while the student-directed side believes that giving the students more freedom in what to do will allow them to learn more in the process. While it is easy to see how students would like a project designed by themselves, school projects should still be primarily designed and directed by the teachers.

To start, teacher-designed projects allow for a more intuitive and in-depth project that students could not develop on their own. A human's brain does not develop fully adulthood; it is immature, and as such, leaves students prone to make decisions that may harm their own education. Furthermore, teachers have gone through rigorous training and have an intimate knowledge of their own subject, and thus can create projects that are on topic and beneficial to a student's education; on the other hand, students are only beginning to learn their subjects, and do not have the proper training or the knowledge required to create a project that allows them to learn.

However, some may think that teacher-designed projects limit creativity and make the projects overall less enjoyable for the students. It is easy to think that way, but by limiting some creativity, teachers are actually ensuring proper education during the summer. If a student designed a project, for example, they could deliberately make the project simple, giving themselves an easy grade when, in reality, they learned nothing. To continue, the students could derail the project, straying away from what the teacher or school intended for them. All of these and more make the projects pointless and a waste of resources and time, but teacher-designed projects ensure that students stay on topic, while also raising the quality and benefits of the projects by requiring a bare minimum.

Finally, teacher-designed projects allow for a standardized rubric that makes grading easier and simpler for teachers. Student-designed projects can be anything, especially since the teachers do not have control over them. Consequently, the teachers must adapt in response to the varied project types and qualities, making a rubric harder to define. This means that teachers require more time and effort to grade each project, making an already exhausting task even more arduous. However, a teacher-designed project is the same for every student, meaning everyone makes the same thing about the same topics. This lets the teachers focus on assessing more important skills and the quality of the project instead of checking solely completion.

In short, a student-designed project simply cannot provide the in-depth education that a teacher-designed project gives. Summer break, while it is indeed a break, does not mean education ever stops. It is up to summer projects- and teachers, consequently- to keep it that way.