Education allows students to pursue their goals in life and be the change they want to see in the world. There is a freedom that comes with education; doors open for some who have higher education where they do not for others. However, in order to get to a point where you can pursue your passions, you must learn the base information that creates a foundation for you and allows you to pursue advancement in a certain field. To enhance foundational learning in grade school, teachers must design summer projects in order to ensure that students have the background knowledge to succeed in the class, to ensure that students and teachers understand how the other party operates, and to create a set of standard skills to be successful in the class.

If teachers design summer projects for their students, it guides the students in what the teacher will be looking for students to know coming into the class. Many teachers give assessments on their summer assignments once the school year begins because there is an assumption that students have learned the material through their summer assignment as if it were a unit. This unit is a baseline for teachers and students, so that time does not have to be wasted on going back and reteaching. Or, in the case of some classes like history, teachers are not forced to focus on a time period that does not apply to the course. In fact, in several history courses at my school, the summer assignment is the first unit of the year and is both new and old material. This is beneficial because it gives that class extra time in the schedule to get through all the information that does need to be covered during the year, which is especially important in AP classes with AP tests. If students were to design their own summer projects, they would all differ and they would not provide a consistent baseline knowledge coming into the class, ensuring that teachers would have to waste time catching people up and reteaching so that everyone had the same background.

Another reason why teachers should design summer projects for their students is that it allows teachers and students to understand one another's style before the school year reaches its normal intensity, which could help learning later. Many teacher-designed summer assignments are followed by assessments and this not only ensures that students have a baseline, but it also mandates that students study as if the school year were already underway. The summer assignment is usually graded lighter by teachers, but it still gives teachers an idea of how their students operate before thrusting them into new techniques and concepts. It also allows students to understand how teachers grade before it becomes worth its maximum value. For instance, my summer assignment in math this year was worth less than following tests and it had several replacement opportunities, so it was not too high in intensity. However, it allowed me to see the guidelines that my new teacher followed and get adjusted to his style of grading and teaching. This would not be possible with student-designed assignments because students would have different assignments. There would be no real grading standard used by the teacher and there would be no first low-pressure assessment for students and teachers alike to begin to adjust to eachother and see how the other thinks.

Lastly, teachers should design summer projects instead of the students because it separates those who are ready for the class and those who are not. If students are not ready for a class level, their concept retention and learning could potentially suffer. Yet, when students are allowed to design their own projects, they tend to play to their strengths and their interests. For example, in my AP Seminar class this year, we had the opportunity to do a group project on anything we wanted and we all chose different things because we have different interests. This is good in theory; however, it masks when some students aren't ready for the challenge of completing tasks in formats that they are not prepared for and on topics they know little about. When students are allowed to write about their interests or things they already know about, they may have to put in less effort and research. For instance, one of my previous summer assignments this past summer allowed me to write about the Roe v. Wade decision. I already had some knowledge on the case and I was interested, so I didn't have to put as much thought into it; I was also allowed to write in the format of my choosing. This comes into play in classes like the social sciences where AP or DE writing requires a format like SAQs or FRQs and requires certain knowledge that you may not be interested in, but you still must research. However, when the writing that students do over the summer caters to their format of choice or interests, it is harder to tell that students are not prepared for formatted SAQ writing or for topics that they must do extensive research on to be prepared for.

Thus, I think it is clear that while student-designed projects are beneficial in some scenarios, they do not apply in situations like summer assignments where students must be prepared to work coming into class. Summer assignments need to have a teacher's stringent guidelines because they are not meant to express your interests within a class's format; a format that you don't know yet. Summer assignments, therefore, need to ensure that you get the baseline knowledge you need to succeed in the class. These assignments need to make sure that kids are able to write in formats that they are less comfortable with and about topics that they are not as interested in, and they need to make sure that students and teachers open the year understanding the way that the other group thinks, writes, teaches, grades and learns. Neither party, however, can recieve these benefits unless teachers are the ones creating the assignments. You must have the skills before you design your own projects.