Without a doubt, the blaring ring of the bell on the last day of school is the most awaited day of the year for students. The idea of pool parties, beach vacations, and sleepovers with friends every single day, instantly widens smiles; however, the very thought of having to complete an assignment given by a teacher, especially one with a bland topic, can turn even the widest smiles upside down. It is common for many schools to give a mandatory summer project for students as a way to ensure that they continue to engage in the learning process. These teacher-designed projects do not take into consideration the learning interests of students and instead can make, what should be an exciting and thought-provoking activity, feel like a chore. Student-designed summer projects will give students flexibility in finding a topic, incline them to complete the task, and allow for increased creativity as they work on the assignment over the course of summer.

In any type of project, regardless of subject, the topic for which it revolves around is significant as the student is basing their whole assignment on it. When a project is assigned by a teacher, it is typically general with no varying levels of depth, making it increasingly difficult for students to want to explore further. My older brother, Generic_Name, during the summer of his sophomore year in high school, was told to work on a biological inquiry with a topic of his choice. He has always been fascinated by the form and function of the human body, particularly with the nervous system. Generic_Name decided, after seeing a documentary on left and right brain, that he wanted to investigate the effects on the human body if the connection between them was severed. On the other hand, Generic_Name, his best friend, has a great interest in understanding the origins of different species and how they have evolved over time. Without hesitation, Generic_Name knew that he wanted to keep evolution as the focus of his research, which is a contrast to Generic_Name's investigation on the human brain. Even with their differences, both topics are in relation to biology with each suited to the student's interests. With the goal of a summer project being to encourage students to learn, this is only achieved if the topic chosen has a meaning to the person.

Once a topic that is engaging to a student's field of study is chosen, the completion of the assignment will be enjoyable and unlike a chore, which is common in teacher-designed projects. Generic_Name's interest of the human brain can be connected to a black hole; his mind will keep sucking in knowledge from research, and he will not stop pondering about various explanations to the independent actions of the brain when the connection between the two sides is lost. In contrast, Generic_Name would not do such a project even if he was given an incentive. Similarly, Generic_Name could not even force himself to learn about embryological origin and evolutionary history, which is a topic Generic_Name could spend hours learning about. Essentially, when a student selects a topic that they are passionate about, the motivation to learn about the subject comes naturally.

When it comes to designing a project, the possibilities are endless, with many decisions to make about the most effective way to showcase it. Instead of writing a ten paged paper on his investigation, Generic_Name could not contain his excitement on his findings and made the decision to create a human simulation. This simulation was set up at the local library, where different people would come to Generic_Name's booth and take a variety of exercises that utilize both the left and right brain. These activities included having the participants simultaneously draw a circle with their right hand and a square with their left hand, which they rendered as impossible. He then had them cover one of their eyes and requested for the participants to complete certain tasks specific to either the left or right brain. If given a topic by a teacher or asked to design a creative presentation of results to Generic_Name's topic, Generic_Name would not have been able to complete it with as much enthusiasm or have retained any of the knowledge. He was able to think outside of the box due to him having creative control over the project, which paved the direction it took.

Even with the plethora of benefits to student-designed projects, there is an argument for teacher-designed projects being more essential to student learning. Student-designed projects have been countered by many, detailing that they are very time-consuming and stray away from crucial learning targets since each student is focusing on a different topic. Although this rationale is reasonable, the goal of a summer project is to ensure that the student is learning about a topic they are interested in. A summer project is not to teach students any concepts; it is more so for them to take what they have learned and develop an application to it. By allowing students to find a topic that is best suited to their passions, they are given the freedom to extend their knowledge to the best of their ability and the encouragement to really engage in the learning process.

Overall, the importance of a student-designed project comes from its value in motivating students to further their knowledge on a topic that they are genuinely interested in. With having no restrictions in picking a topic, students can enjoy researching and learning as well as increase their capabilities in both, without it feeling like a task that needs to be completed and cannot be evaded. Not only will this motivate students to examine what fields of study they are interested in, it can also open their minds to creating complex questions and intricate explanations to them, which a teacher-designed project lacks as it is catered to everyone at a standard level of difficulty. Through designing their own project, students are exposed to and deeply involved in the different parts of the creative process, which is key to their learning.