Summer is a time for students to not think about school and homwork, so when a teacher tells them they have a summer assigmnet, they are not excited. But, when the teacher says that they get to pick the summer assigment, then it gets better. Now, instead of doing a boring 20 page worksheet, the students are given freedom on what they can do. They will enjoy the project and remember it for the next school year. The summer projects should be student-designed because it gives the students a voice, lets them do something they are interested in, and they are more likely to complete it.

Students like to know that teachers listen to them. They like to have freedom in school and be treated more like adults. They do not like to be very structured, so when a teacher lets them pick their summer assigment, students realize they actually do have a voice and are being heard. Students also realize that their teacher is giving them a lot of responsibility and they can not mess it up. In Glee, a tv show, there is a group of high schoolers in the glee club and their teacher has a different assignment every week that they have to complete. The teacher allows the students to pick any song they want to sing, but it has to relate to the topic. So, he is giving his students all the freedom in the world to pick a song, but it has meaning in that the song has to stay on topic. The teacher has a good relationship with all his students because he listens to them and lets them have their own voice in the classroom. Letting students have freedom, but some guidelines is a good thing because it allows the students to be creative while learning what is important.

Teenagers are complicated in that we only do what we want to do. It is refreshing to a student when a teacher allows them to pick what they get to do for their summer assignment because that does not happen often. When students get to pick what they want to do, you know they are enjoying the project because the topic is interesting to them. In High School Musical the musical the series, a disney plus original show, the new theater teacher is putting on a play in school and she assigns the students to write their own songs and it can be sung in the play. This gives the students a chance to do something they love and be reconized for it. The students participate in this because they want to and they get to write their own song. Having students pick what they want to do is important because it allows the students to grow.

If my mom told me to wash the dishes, I would probably not do it. But, if my mom told me to bake a treat for dessert, I would totally do it because I love to bake. Students are the same way. If a teacher assigns a reading assignment and a student hates to read, the student is most likely not going to complete that assignment. This goes with summer assignments too. If the teacher assigns a summer assignment that the students do not care about, then they are more inclined not to do it. But, if the teacher allows the students to pick what they want to do for the summer assignment, then I promise they will do it. In 8th grade, I was given a assignment and it asked us to find shapes in everyday objects, items, and structures. I did it with my friend and we both had fun. We went to the mall and looked around to see if anything was making a shape that we could use for the project. This project gave us freedom because we could choose anything as long as it made a shape that was assigned. So, it gave us the gift of being creative and had guidelines to make sure we were learning the subject.

Schools should have student-designed summer projects to let the students be creative, do a project they will enjoy, and do it on time. Some teachers would say that having teacher-designed summer assignments are better because it makes sure the students are learning exactly what the teacher wants them to be learning. Others would say that what is important is the student not the assignment. These summer assignments should be helping the students learn and help them be themselves. Students will not enjoy the teacher-designed projects and they will not retain the information as well. You want to challenge the students, but also let them have room to be creative and do what will help them learn better. 