During summer break, most kids will not use a lot of their time for learning. A way to change this is for schools to require students to complete summer projects. At Generic_School, students are not required to complete any work over summer break. If Generic_School started to assign projects over the summer, they should be teacher-designed. Reasons for this include more on-topic work, easy grading, and assessing the students.

Summer projects that are assigned should be created by the teachers and assign the same or similar project to all students. This way, students are doing work that is relevant to their curriculum and is worth doing. If the projects were designed by students, students could potentially pick a topic that is irrelevant to learning, and does not relate to what the teacher would want. An example of this is a research project. If students were allowed to choose whatever they want for their project, it is possible that some students create a project that is not relevant to learning. If teachers assigned a broad topic for students to choose from, it would help regulate the project more to make sure that students are staying on topic and learning. These projects could potentially tie in to what students will be learning next year. If this is the case, having a teacher-designed project will help students get a head start on the curriculum for the next school year.

If schools are assigning projects to kids over the summer, it is most likely that they will be graded. With a teacher-designed project, it will be easier and quicker for teachers to assess the projects that were made by the students. For example, if there was one or two set projects that were teacher-created, the grading process would be simpler than having a range of very different projects that were student-designed. This also allows teachers to grade off a rubric easier, since there are set objectives that students need to complete. This also makes it easier for the students to complete the project, since they will have a clearer understanding of what to do for their project, instead of coming up with their own. If a student creates their own project, it will be hard for them to know exactly what to include and how much to do. It is possible they could go off a rubric, but this is not as practical.

Another reason that summer projects should be teacher-designed is that it can help teachers know where students are academically placed and find out what students already know. This is similar to a pre-test that teachers often give to test the students knowledge of a topic. If the teacher assigns an English project, it might give the teacher an idea on how good that student is at writing an essay or doing a research project. This lets teachers know if a certain student might need help during the year, or if a student is already capable of performing well in the class. This gives a good reason for a school to assign a summer project, because it will benefit the teachers and the students.

Giving a summer project is not something that I have ever gotten in the past. If I were to have been assigned one, I would like it to be from a teacher. This would help me complete the project easier. With all the reasons stated above, this is how summer projects should be assigned.