Lately summer projects are becoming popular to assure students are learning during the break. There is an ongoing debate over as to whether summer projects should be student-designed or teacher-designed. Some may believe summer projects should be teacher-designed, but this is not true. Although some may disagree, summer projects should be designed by the students.

There are a variety of reasons why summer projects should be student-designed. Student-designed projects can reveal an individuals character. For example, an athlete can turn in a sports related project, but it may not be the most organized. This gives the teacher the ability to know what kind of student they are looking forward to teaching. Also, these projects can build a students creativity. Working on summer projects allows students to have more than enough time to brainstorm and come up with something creative. A teacher-designed project can not be as creative, because the rubric has to accommodate every student. Another reason is the projects will increase the students desire to complete the project. With the student creating their own projects it will boost their confidence levels. Also, the teacher will be satisfied because more people will finish the project.

There are additional reasons why students should design the summer projects. This will allow the students to bring in a variety of ideas and projects. For instance, one student could have a 3-D project and the other could have a PowerPoint. The students will likely compare and contrast their projects, which will result in students learning new skills for future tasks. Also,this will give the students a challenge. Designing a project is not the easiest task, especially for a child. It also helps the students learn how to persevere and overcome a challenge. Lastly, these projects will teach students how to learn on their own and become independent. Becoming independent and learning on your own are vital skills needed when moving forward in life. For example, in college you do everything on your own, your professor probably will not even know your name.

Although some may disagree, summer projects should be student-designed. There are a plethora of reasons to support this notion: it reveals personality and character, builds creativity, and challenges students. In this era we tend to shy away from traditional ways, so why not let the projects be student-designed and change things up a bit.