Summer is the time of the year every teacher and student look forward to as soon as they start the school year. Many schools in the states require students to complete some sort of task over the summer so that they don't fall behind in the school year. Many of these assignments are usually teacher-designed and students find them boring and useless. I think whatever project or research that schools assign should be student-designed. There are many benefits to student-designed projects such as that the students will actually be passionate about what they learn, they have fun while learning at the same time, and in some cases it can even help them decide what to pursue a career in.

It is no secret that many students just do work because of the grade and don't actually retain any information. If the projects assigned over the summer are student-designed, the students will have a say in what they want to learn about and what they care about. Everyone is passionate about something, and giving students an opportunity to explore those interests may further benefit them in the future. Studying on topics that interests a student and giving them freedom to choose will also help prepare them for the world outside of school. I believe that if the projects are student-designed, many more students will finish the project as well as do it properly. When I was doing a summer project for psych class, I was very interested and passionate about the work I did to research different mental health situations. My passion in psychology led me to finish the assignment long before it was due.

Every child to teenager in America expects nothing less than ice creams and the pool during the summer. When teachers burden them with summer projects, that can dampen their excitement as well as discourage them from completing the tedious assignment. However, if the projects are student-designed, more students will think that it is fun and have fun doing it. It is obvious that if a person gets to choose for themselves rather than have a teacher do it for them they will be much more satisfied and happy while completing the task. While doing my psych project, I had a lot of fun learning about the basic biological facts of psychology, it made me really engaged in what I did.

The grades K-12 are set up to encourage students to enroll in college. Having a student design the tasks and assignments themselves will prepare them for an higher education as well. When having to do everything themselves, students will feel a sense of responsibility and duty towards the project. These small traditions of having student-designed projects over the summer will benefit the student in the far future greatly. Exploring different options might also help students figure out what kind of career path they might want in the future. The summer project I did on my own as well as the psych class over the school year has led me to decide and major in psychology in college.

It is very difficult to make students like work over the summer, but letting them have a say in what to do can make a big difference. There are many benefits as to why student-designed projects are better than teacher-designed. Passion, fun, and future goals are just some of the reasons why student-designed projects should strongly be considered. I think this can be tied into the quote, "do what you love, and you'll never work a day in your life."