School projects are an important part of the curriculum in every school. Students of every class get assigned at least one school project (if not more) in an academic year.
These projects can be anything ranging from a science model to an Egyptian mummy. No class is spared from these projects. These days the students from grade 1 or 2 are also asked to show their creativity in school projects. But are these school projects really useful? Do they exemplify any kinds of learning or are they just a waste of time for the students? The answer could be a yes or a no!
It can be a yes from the perspective of the schools because they assign these projects to children with a view that they would get some practical knowledge. They also hope that the students will be able to implement the theories they have learned in classes into practice. Therefore, these projects are considered very valuable from the perspective of the schools. But is it true? Do students get practical experience from these school projects or do they get stressed and end up wasting a lot of time?
To begin with, in theory, these projects can be a great way to gain practical knowledge, but in reality, there is little or no connection between these projects to real life problems. For example, an Egyptian mummy can have no relation to what a student would deal with in his or her life. Secondly, in certain cases, when the project is too intricate, the students end up outsourcing the work to an external vendor. For example, most of the science projects of students are made by vendors outside. Alternatively, if there are no vendors available to do the job, parents end up doing it for their children. Either way, students do not gain any practical knowledge and end up stressing themselves as well as their parents in the process.
Furthermore, it can be a disaster for students that belong to the less privileged section because of two main reasons. Firstly, they need to spend extra money to buy things to make such school projects (if all the students attempt to do it themselves). Secondly, they have to pay to the vendors to get it done if the project is too complicated. In any case, it is hard for a less privileged student or their families to cope up with it. In a nutshell, school projects are just a show and do not contribute to any form of real learning!