Summer homework, one of the most scary phrases said by any teacher. Many schools and teachers require projects to be completed over the Summer to keep topics fresh in students minds while the students are on break. While this train of thought does make sense, these projects should be designed by the students. It is unreasonable to think that students should work around the teachers schedule during the summer, as if they hadn't been doing that the entire school year. Student designed assignments would allow the children to continue their learning while still being able to go on vacation and work at their jobs. It would also allow them to become more engaged with what they are learning, as they would be be in the drivers seat of their learning, making it more enjoyable. It would also let the teachers get a better understanding of their students and where their level of comprehension is with a certain topic. Student designed projects would allow for the students to learn, while also allowing them to have fun during their break.

Typically, when teachers assign homework over the break, they schedule due dates and assignments when it is beneficial to them, and not quite as much as the students. Giving the power to the students to make their own time line to help alleviate the stress of the projects, makes the assignments seem like less of a chore and helps them learn the content. A couple years ago, a teacher of mine assigned our class three books to be read over the summer. The first book had to be read by the end of June along with a quick report. Too bad for me, I was in Italy with my family, that I hadn't seen for a year, for the month. During the vacation I was barely able to spend time with my family as I was trying to read the assigned book and write a report. Because of this teacher designed summer assignment, I missed quality family time and rushed to finish my report. These restraints that wouldn't have happened if the schedule was student designed, caused me to not learn anything because I was too rushed, and also made me lose time with my family. If students were able to design a schedule for their assignments this would take away the stress that comes along with set due dates.

Another thing many teachers like to do, is to assign "busy work." Teachers assign busy work just to be able to say that the students are learning and working. During the Summer, Teachers often assign busy work to meet the schools requirement of a summer project. Often times this includes long packets, that students simply have to complete. They are extremely time consuming and non beneficial to the children. For example, let's say a science teacher requires the students to complete a project on the different bird species of the region. One student might really benefit from a book about the birds and learn from it, but another student is more of a visual learner. With a student designed project, the first student could read his book about the specific birds, while the other creates a project on the different species he sees around his neighborhood while documenting what he sees. Summer projects shouldn't all be the same, because everyone is different. If students were able to control how they were learning, everyone would be able to create a project that works best for them, which makes it easier to understand what they need to learn.

Many might think, that the teachers don't benefit from student designed projects, and this plan just reverses the stress to the teachers. But, not only would student made projects be beneficial to the children, it would also be beneficial to the teachers as well. Student made projects would allow teachers to gauge where each students level of comprehension of a certain subject/topic is and where each student needs a little extra help. Let's say a history teacher lets their students create a project about the government branches. One student writes about all of the branches of government but leaves out the fact that the President is a part of the Executive branch from their project. The teacher now knows what they should review in the upcoming school year. Since the project is in control by the students they are able to learn what they want and how they want, this freedom allows the teachers to help the students learn even further as they now have a better understanding of what the children's strengths and weaknesses are. While these students were learning about history their teacher was learning about them.

Leaving the students in charge of their summer assignments, benefits all those involved, from the teachers to the students. It lets students feel more relaxed during the break while also allowing them to learn at their own pace and more effectively. It allows the teachers to get a better understanding of where their students are so they can grow as teachers by knowing what the kids struggle with and how to improve in the future.

So, if teachers are required to give students Summer assignments, hand the keys to the kids and let them drive.