Throughout the school year, both staff and students await summers warm arrival. As the incoming heat and sunscreen draws the final semester to an end, the dreaded thoughts of summer projects spread. Whether it be summer-readings or instructional packets, several high schools urge, if not require, teachers to assign summer projects to assure continuous learning over the two month break. Recently, however, students have debated that these projects should be student-designed rather than teacher-designed. Designing their own projects would allow students to pursue topics they interest, the creative freedom that makes their projects unique, and ensure each students ability to complete projects with the resources available to them.

Often times students are required to complete a project they lack interest in. A 2013 study confirms that when students are given the opportunity to design individual assignments, they are 78% more inclined to participate and are confident of their final product. If a particular student is interested in basketball, they would be more willing to read a book and write an accompanying paper about its history rather than Mary Shelly's

Frankenstein . A students eagerness to learn in specific topics strengthens their work and ensures their growth and success before the new school year.

Equally as important as topic diversity is topic delivery. Reading a book and writing a paper confirming your completion year after year does little to stimulate a students brain. Offering students the creative freedom to complete their summer project will further invest them into their topic. Say a student is interested in film and designs their project on studying its evolution; instead of writing a paper, the student could make a video presentation featuring different clips and information. Allowing students to broaden their horizons will encourage critical thinking and result in a more stimulated head space when returning to school.

Another important consideration is whether or not students can access the necessary resources to complete a teacher-designed project. Several high school students are not fortunate enough to purchase a summer-reading book, supplies for a poster board, or the internet to construct a paper. When completing the project isn't a viable option, the opportunity to design their own allows them to use resources already available to them and avoid lowering their grade.

Although student-designed summer projects are proven to aid learning in more ways than one, schools are still hesitant to make the shift. Teachers rebuttal saying teacher-designed projects would provide students with relevant prep work for their next course and avoid any inappropriate topics that fail to exhibit student growth. Students agreed and offered to solve the inevitable conflict: students have the option of of either completing a teacher-designed project or designing and their own as long as it is teacher-approved prior to schools end.

Maintaining academic activity is key to achieving higher grades and retaining long term information. Even in the summer, students should practice this with assigned summer projects. Though teacher-designed projects aid a students transition into the next year, these projects can be repetitive and may struggle to entice or stimulate students. When students themselves design one, however, the passion for their topics, creative delivery, and avoiding any hindrance on unavailable necessities allow them to learn while still fulfilling what summer is all about: having fun!