Student-Designed Summer Projects

Schools across the nation have chosen to require their students to complete summer projects during their break. This requirement is designed to assure that students continue learning while they are outside of school. Though many schools agree on this idea, there is another debate surrounding the issue. Some agree that the projects should be designed by students, but others feel that they should be outlined by the teachers themselves. Summer projects should be student-designed because this would allow students to display their creativity, their true knowledge and abilities, and their overall work ethic.

Summer projects should be designed by students because this would allow them to showcase their creativity. They would be able to choose the format of their own project. This could be anything from posters to online presentations. In addition, allowing students to have creative freedom over their projects would increase their interest in the idea of summer work. If they could create their projects using any format, they would be able to incorporate their own ideas and interests. A student who is interested in graphic design could use the Internet to create their project. On the other hand, a student who is interested in art could draw their own poster by hand. Letting students creatively design their own projects would allow them to learn even more. They would be able to explore new project formats and find new resources that they could then implement with future assignments.

Another reason these summer projects should be student-designed is because it would allow students to exhibit their true knowledge and abilities. Without an explicit outline of what the students must incorporate into the project, they would need to determine what all should be included. This would allow them to show off their knowledge of the content at hand. This would also show their ability to separate important content from unimportant details. Teachers would be able to use the knowledge of their students' strengths and weaknesses to design future lessons and projects that would fit their particular group of students.

The final reason that students should design their own summer projects is because it shows their true work ethic. By designing the format for their entire project, students would be able to show a commitment to their education. Projects that are designed poorly and thrown together at the last minute would show that those students did not put in very much effort. On the other hand, projects that are neat and organized show that they were put together with effort and precision. These students would clearly have the stronger work ethic. Knowledge of their students' work ethic could be very valuable to teachers.

Though many people agree that student-designed projects would be more beneficial for the students, others disagree with this opinion. Some people believe that summer projects should be created by teachers instead. They argue that projects organized completely by the teachers would allow educators to ensure that students include all of the necessary content in an organized manner. Though this could be viewed as a slight advantage for teachers, it is outweighed by the many disadvantages of this idea. By not allowing students to design their own projects, teachers would be limiting their students' creativity. Outlining the projects completely would prevent students from placing their own creative spins on the projects, so teachers would end up with nearly identical projects from all of their students. It would also place more stress on the teachers. By not allowing students to have the creative reigns over their assignments, teachers are placing more work on themselves. Though the idea of teacher-designed summer projects might seem better, the disadvantages clearly outweigh the advantages.

Students should be able to design their own summer projects because it would allow them to show off their creativity, their personal knowledge and abilities, and their individual work ethics. They would be able to display their creativity through their choice of format for their project. By creating their own designs for their projects, each student would be able to show off their ability to translate their knowledge into an appropriate format. Finally, the effort put into designing their project by each student would show teachers whether or not they possess the ability to work diligently on their assignments. Though teacher-designed projects would allow the teachers to ensure all projects are completely organized, student-designed projects allow students to incorporate their creativity and interests into their project design. Overall, students should design their own summer projects because this opportunity would allow them to take charge of their own education.