Some schools require students to complete summer projects to assure they continue learning during their break. A teacher-designed school project is a way to communicate with upcoming students through the introduction of the new curriculum. However, a student-designed project allows students to choose their own topic. The students would have complete control over their summer project, permitting them to prove what they are individually capable of. Summer projects should be student-designed because it allows students to explore their own interests, it gives students more freedom to be creative, and is less stressful.

Students should be able to design their own projects so that they can indulge themselves in matters that personally interest them. For example, students would put more effort into a project they are interested in, rather than one assigned to them. Researching topics that are unappealing does not encourage a higher quality outcome in an assignment. The freedom to explore other topics that are more personal and relatable gives students the power to prove they understand their project. Also, students have more freedom in their presentation. They are allowed to represent their knowledge through the projects in whatever form they believe fits best. This way, teachers are able to see work habits and the effort students provide in their project's display. Freedom in choosing their own topics truly allows students to learn about what they desire.

Another reason in favor of student-designed projects is the capability of creativity. A personal project allows students to create their work however they see fitting. Students can design and display their summer's worth of research in their own creative ways. Students creating their own projects freely will provide better, more creative outcomes. In addition, teacher-assigned projects teach kids to follow a rubric and limit their own creativity. Students will put less effort into a project with specific guidelines because they are less interested and feel constrained to the task's specific guidelines. Developing their own projects allows them to be free-thinking, and provide a creative project that accurately represents their efforts. Student-designed projects allow for more creativity than teacher-designed projects.

Finally, student projects are less stressful than a teacher-assigned project. For example, all students creating the same exact project encourages academic competition. Competing to create and develop a better project than friends and peers introduces more stress to students. A summer project should not be used to stress students, for the students will recieve unwanted and false ideas about the stress and workload of school. Also, unwanted stress can cause the students to cheat on or disregard their assignments. The pressure of a teacher-designed project could drive students to copy another students' work. Other students, who are not engaged in a teacher-designed project, might completely blow off the project, and waste their summer unproductively. Stress drives students to make projects more trouble than they are worth.

Student-designed summer projects are clearly a better choice than teacher-designed projects. Students are permitted to research and report on their own interests and what applies to them. Creativity in their projects is derived from the freedom to complete their work in their own way. Student-designed projects take away from the amount of stress added from teacher-assigned projects and their elaborate rubric and grading systems. A student's own project can display one's hardworking capabilities towards a set of academic goals.