Everybody has been in situations where their teachers have assigned a project, but when the students actually look at the project rubric, they feel like the project will be useless. But when looking at it from multiple perspectives, do projects actually matter or not?

Well, for starters, when teachers assign projects, they are usually due in a few weeks/months. Teachers set these dates so that students can develop planning skills that they will need in adulthood. Another reason they assign these products is for hands-on learning and student engagement. I asked Arriana Herrera, a junior, who said, “One of my friends could never learn by just listening to a lecture, but whenever the teacher did an activity related to the lesson, she was able to fully understand it and prefers projects a lot more over assignments.” Now, there are some students out there who can grasp a concept better when they can physically interact with it because they are kinesthetic and will be more engaged.

Additionally, teachers assign group projects to students so that more complex projects can get done faster, and students develop effective communication skills that they can use in the workforce. These projects also introduce various viewpoints and provide many students with opportunities to learn new things they wouldn’t have if they did a solo project. These are also ways for students to make new friends because sometimes they are forced to collaborate outside of school.

However, even though projects do seem to have a lot of benefits for students, there are also some major negatives involved with assigning projects. 

For example, it forces kids to plan off time, which is not a bad thing; however, some kids can struggle a lot with this. Noah Ioroyo, a freshman, said, “I really don’t like projects because they just mess up with my schedule because I can’t plan ahead of time because I procrastinate a lot.” Another thing is that students might have a lot going on in life, whether it is sports or extracurriculars, and may find it hard to find time to do these time-consuming projects.

And let’s face it, everybody has had the experience where in a group project, everyone is working except for that one kid who didn’t do anything the entire project except stare at his phone, and when it’s time for them to turn in their part, they don’t do it, and everyone has to do their part for them. And sometimes teachers may lower the group’s grade because not everyone was “participating”.

So overall, projects have many ways to help students, but just as many to harm them. But if I am to give my direct opinion, I think that projects are useful,  because the long-term benefits outweigh all the negatives.