Nobody enjoys doing Summer assignments, many people believe they are pointless and a waste of time. There is a lot of controversey between student-designed projects and teacher-designed projects that has to be settled.

Although there are many ways to learn and explore, students benefit more from teacher-designed projects because they are easy to follow and start, students will learn about more relevant topics, and students gain more knowledge and explore new topics.

Teacher-designed Summer projects are very simple to follow and give everyone a starting point. There are certain guidelines that must be followed and met, which help a lot of people when they get stuck or don't know what to do. In Physics this year, I was assigned a lab in which I was to create my own lab. The lab had no guidelines or rubric; a new topic for for all of us, most everyone got stuck on the lab, since we didn't know what we were doing. The hardest part was figuring out where to start and what to do the lab on. When the labs were created by the teacher they were easy going and there were very few moments where we get stuck. Many people could be in the same scenario if students were required to create their own Summer projects; therefore, teacher-designed projects are more beneficial in this situation.

Projects designed by teachers also cause for students to be learning about more relevant topics. The teachers already know what they will be teaching, the students have an idea, but never know 100 percent. The teachers will make the students learn about things that will help them throughout the school year. For example, the Summer assignment for Chemistry, we were to memorize all of the bonds and compound formulas. These were used throughout the whole school year, and it was very necessary to know all of them. It was very obvious who didn't memorize them all before the year, and those who did succeeded more than others. Teacher-designed projects will help with the knowledge needed for the course and will benefit students throughout the year.

Teacher based projects will also enhance the knowledge of individual students who complete the assignments. The information required to learn in the Summer assignments will be used in that class, and maybe in life also. A great representation of this would be my Summer assignment for Economics. For this class we were required to research about what the economy really is and what it does. Little did I know that my idea of what the economy is was very wrong and misunderstood. I learned about how the economy as a whole works, about how the United States and world economy work together, and about what the economy does and accounts for. Without this Summer assignment I still would have learned about it in class, but digging deep into the topic caused me to open my mind about some things. I gained a lot of knowledge and learned a lot that most people don't understand about the economy. Projects created by teachers also can get people to enhance knowledge and explore new topics.

Some people might say student-designed projects are more beneficial because it allows for more flow of creativity when learning, but teacher-designed projects are more easy going for students to begin and meet expectations, students will learn about useful subjects for the class, and knowledge and wisdom will be gained while exploring new things. Often times, when students are required to create their own projects, they will get stuck on what to do the project on or have no idea where to start. With teacher based projects there are certain expectations that must be followed and things needed to be completed, causing for an easy flow, no getting stuck project. Teacher-designed projects are are more beneficial to students and their learning.