Holiday Homework

Personally, I dislike holiday homework, as many others do. My dislike's not because I'm lazy to do it, but I feel that the whole concept of holiday homework is flawed. I mean, the point of the school holidays is to let students relax and take a break from education, right? If so, why weigh them down with extra homework? I do understand the fact that teachers do not want their students to become rusty in their work, so to speak, but it is obvious that teenagers generally do remember how to read and write after a month without school. Maybe they won't if they get a concussion, but otherwise I see no point in it. In my opinion, dumping truckloads of compositions, essays and projects on students is not a good way to keep them learning. They'll probably fill in some random answers and go back to their computer games. So, what should be done instead?

My idea is for students to do projects during the holidays. Optional ACE projects. This does not stress them out as they desperately attempt to balance entertainment and work. The projects do not have to have a set topic; rather, the student can choose his own topic of interest. If the project is done well, he can get ACE points for it. This is quite similar to the Projects Competition, except that the student can choose whatever he pleases for the project and the standards are lower. He can also choose to work solo or in a team. I think this is better because the current form of holiday homework, namely worksheets and compositions, provides no incentive to the students. Instead, there is a punishment for poor or no work. The closest thing to a reward for good work is work that is counted in your final grade, which isn't that great. I believe incentives for good work generally generate more enthusiasm than punishments for bad work. Then again, it's all up to the student.

What do you think?