Students are usually on their phones and doing other mindless tasks during summer break, and they don't stimulate their brains. As a result, some schools assign summer projects to ensure that their students learn over the summer and are better prepared for the next school year. These schools debate on assigning teacher-designed projects, which have specific guidelines, or student-designed projects, which allow for more creative freedom. These summer projects should be student-designed because students would be able to personalize their projects, the projects would be more enjoyable, and the students would put in more effort into their products.

With student-designed projects, students are able to express their own creative styles. For example, in an interior design class, the summer project could be to design the students' dream house. One student may excel in drawing, so they could draw their dream house. Another student may excel in graphic design, so they could create a three-dimensional model of their dream house on a computer. Lastly, another student may like Legos, so they could build their dream house out of Legos. On the other hand, teacher-designed projects would minimize the creative freedom because they would set specific guidelines on how they want their students to complete it. All in all, students can complete their projects using the unique skills they have with student-designed projects.

Also, students would find the projects more fun if they are able to design it. Summer break is a time for students to have fun. When a teacher designs a project, there are usually set guidelines on how they want the project, which sometimes isn't what students would enjoy. This would make it difficult for students to find the motivation to complete their projects, especially over summer break. On the other hand, with student-designed projects, students would be able to personalize their projects, so they could use their own interests to complete it. When students are able to individualize their projects, they find it more enjoyable to complete since they would include aspects that they enjoy and minimize aspects of the project they could potentially dislike. For example, in the previously mentioned interior design summer project, the student who excels in drawing could dislike using computers. If the teacher had required the dream house to be made on the computer, the drawer could find it difficult to finish the project because they don't enjoy using computers. In contrast, if the drawer was able to design their own project, then they could draw their dream house while having fun.

Lastly, in student-designed projects, students would put more effort into completing their projects. Generally, students put more effort into the subjects that they enjoy. Similarly, if students are able to design their own projects, they would enjoy completing the projects and work harder on them. If the previously mentioned interior design teacher required everyone to build their dream house out of Legos, the student who draws and the student who enjoys graphic design would enjoy the project less and find little motivation to complete it over the summer. As a result, the drawer and graphic designer would put minimal effort into their Lego dream house, for they may just build a house with little detail and minimal unique thinking. On the other hand, if the dream house project was a student-designed project, the students would put a lot of effort into creating their dream house since they are able to design it with the skills that they have and enjoy using.

Some may argue that students could design the summer projects so they require minimum effort since they want to complete their projects as quickly as possible. However, when you give students creative freedom, they are more likely to put in extra effort because they would enjoy their projects more. Schools that require summer projects should assign student-designed projects because students are able to use their unique skills and interests to complete these projects. Additionally, students would have more fun completing these projects since they are allowed to express their own creativeness, which helps motivate the students to complete it during summer break. Lastly, students are more likely to work harder on their projects because they would find their student-designed projects more enjoyable to complete.