The last thing a student wants to hear is that they have a project over their summer break. Why not make it fun for them? The school year is when students are taught a certain curriculum and then at the end of the year given a final exam or project. Summer break is a chance to break away from that structure which is why school projects that are over the summer should be designed by the students. These projects should be student-designed because the students can chose something they are interested that relates to school and it builds independent skills.

It could be a student or a CEO. When people are interested in something, they make it a priority. It is why student-designed projects are the best option. An example would be school clubs such as DECA and FCCLA. These are national student organizations that are simply supervised by school officials but headed by the students. These clubs do operate year round which is what makes it great for summer projects. These clubs prepare students for post secondary life and provide educational and real world skills in a variety of subjects students could be interested in. Students also must utilize skills from school such as presenting, writing, and research in any given area. Having student-designed projects within their interests will help their future and make learning more enjoyable.

To enter the workforce or college, a student needs to be a well rounded individual to succeed. Student- designed projects will be a foundation for those independent skills they will need. DECA and FCCLA will provide several of those skills such as leadership, teamwork, people skills, critical thinking, managing a business, and more. These organizations are also competitive with certain subject areas which also encourages skills like studying, or hands on skills such as demonstrating or teaching. In the TV show Degrassi, a group of high school juniors come together to do a project over break for their school. This project had consisted of research on the history of their community and how to make it better. To do this project, they needed to gather information, use teamwork, utilize critical thinking skills, and present in front of the school board. In a similar manner to the organizations already mentioned, they also gained valuable skills of leadership, managing, and teaching. While it was directly related to their school, unlike FCCLA and DECA. They also shared the skills of motivation and organization with FCCLA and DECA but they took a different approach.

There are many ways to have a productive, educational, and fun summer project for schools everywhere. It all starts with students designing their projects to build independent skills and choosing to work on something that is interesting to them. While teacher designed projects will help them with their current school and build skills for the academic side of their future which is important, they are more for the immediate. Students now are the future, therefore these reasons listed are why they must be designed by the students. Giving students a path to becoming better and more successful citizens.