Summer break for teachers and students is a great resting period to rejuvenate for the next, upcoming school year. Students are not overwhelmed by the constant workload, while teachers get a well-deserved break from planning. Concerned individuals, such as parents and teachers, believe that during this two-month-break, students do not continue to learn or keep their minds fresh with knowledge. Due to this, most schools give out packets and other tedious work to keep students busy on their time off. Some schools even require students to do summer projects to be sure they will continue to learn outside of school. These projects could possibly be teacher-designed or student-designed. Students should complete summer projects that are student-designed because it promotes creativity, students will be more likely to complete them, and it will allow them to be more engaged in something that interests them.

However, there are some people who may disagree with this point of view because teacher-designed projects would be more specific and perhaps more relevant to that teacher's class subject. if summer projects were teacher-designed, teachers would have the opportunity to provide students with project guidelines to prevent them from feeling overwhelmed or discouraged. Guidelines for these projects would narrow topics down and give the student a better understanding of what his or her project should consist of. Nevertheless, student-designed summer projects would be highly conducive to students because they would allow them to have the freedom to exemplify creativity and give them the chance to think outside of the box.

Allowing the assigned projects to be student-designed would promote the creativity of all students. Being that it is summer, the students should be able to have fun and look forward to their projects rather than feel overwhelmed by them. If the projects are designed by the students, they would have no choice but to plan out and execute their project plans to the best of their ability. This forces their minds to fully think and map out their assignments to know how they would like them to turn out. Because of this, students would have to engage in various research activities which is a vital life skill and would be further conducive to them. In my English class, I was assigned a summative project on the topic of global problems and I was left to come up with a local solution. The choice of the global problem was up to me and I was urged to come up with my own effective local solution. After making a decision and solving it locally how I saw best fit, I had to display this somehow, whether it was by an advertisement, radio podcast, TV commercial, etc. It was all up to me and I had complete freedom to choose something that was really important to me. This was really motivating to me because I was genuinely passionate and interested in the topic of my choosing. Providing students with a creative outlet when doing work can grab their attention and spark an interest ultimately causing them to score higher on assignments.

Students will be more likely to do the projects if they have the option to design them. Teacher-designed projects could discourage a lot of students from completing them due to a lack of motivation or interest. A lot of the time, students are assigned summer homework, whether it be reading, writing, or math packets. Although teachers make these assignments mandatory to be completed and turned in on the first day, the sad reality is: most students don't have their assignments done on time for the returning school year. This is because the students are not interested, let alone engaged. The teacher-designed summer assignments allow no room for fun or creativity that sparks an interest in children, therefore the assignments do not get done. In 7th and 8th grade, me and my peers were asked to do summer break reading logs and summaries. We were allotted the full, two-month-break to fully and thoroughly complete them, yet on the first day of school, hardly anyone had brought them in for credit. This was simply because they did not care enough to have them done over the summer. While students may do their work when school is in session, it does not guarantee they will do it during break. The more creative freedom given to them to do these assignments, the higher the chances are of them getting completed.

If students are actually interested in their projects, they will be more engaged and have higher quality work. Every student is passionate about something and if they are given the opportunity to showcase what is is they're passionate about, the work would be remarkable. It is a proven fact that students learn better when they are truly interested and fascinated by the curriculum. Being engaged also allows students to expand their knowledge. Learning becomes fun to a student when they care about the things being taught, and when learning becomes fun, students desire to know more to develop a higher understanding of what it is they are fascinated with.

Providing students with the chance to be creative and design their own projects will, overall, be what is best for them. They will get the opportunity to excel due to a genuine interest in the projects of their choice. Students will feel less overwhelmed and stressed by work designed by their teachers and will feel more motivated to complete the assignments given to them. Summer break for students is a time to feel stress-free and relaxed before returning back the following year. The projects given during that time should be a way to express their creativity and also be a fun way to learn more about something. The best way to keep a student engaged over the summer is by letting he or she choose an area of interest and letting them explore as much as possible. Student-designed projects are the best way to make sure students continue learning and growing over the long summer break.