The clock has 30 seconds left till summer vacation is upon us, my heart beats faster and faster till I hear the ring of the final bell, summer is here! Summer vacation is for students to enjoy time off from school and prepare for the next school year. Many teachers assign projects over the summer, but many projects are not what the students want and students become less interested in the assignment. Although some may say otherwise, summer projects should be student-designed because projects they enjoy will engage them more with assignment, and students get to use their creativity when designing their own projects.

Students with access to design their own projects allows them to be more hands on with the project which can increase their interest in the assignment. For example, over the summer I was given a calculus project which was meant to refresh our memories of math we have learned throughout high school. I found this 10 page packet to be very time consuming and I had no interest in completing the assignment. However, I was able to reach out to my math teacher and ask if the students could make small presentations for each math unit to refresh our memories on math topics instead of the dreadful 10 page packet, she agreed with my idea and thought that it would be more hands on opportunity for the students. Many teacher appreciate students trying to make learning more fun and using new methods of learning. A new way of learning can be very beneficial to students.

Projects given at school require creativity from students, but the projects are always supposed to be done the way the teacher wants the project completed. It is important to give students the opportunity to use their creativity and find new ways to complete a project because this can give teachers a new look on ways to learn. For instance, my sister took ceramics through out all of high school, and she was given the opportunity to make what ever type of pot she wanted over the summer. She decided to tell her teacher that she wanted to make a pot where the pot would be burned in a trash can to give it a burned look, this style of art is very interesting and creative. Her teacher though my sisters ideas was creative and new because she had never made pots like that before, now the pots being burned in a trash cans are done every year at school to show students a new style of art all because my sister was given the opportunity to maker her own project. This is and perfect example of students being able to use their creativity and also showing teachers new ways to teach the class. Creativity let lose can be a great teacher.

Many people do disagree with the fact that summer projects should be student-designed because they feel that projects created by students are too easy and do not require students to think as much. However, that reasoning is flawed due to the fact that many student-designed projects are challenging because want to benefit from their own projects, and prove to teachers that teacher-designed projects are not always the best solution. For example, over the summer a group of students at my school created a environment conservation club for their environmental science class instead of making a presentation about they environment that the teacher assigned. The environment conservation club is one of the biggest clubs at school, and every year trips with over a 100 students are planned to go to areas where trees are needed to be planted, this club is now one of the most sought after clubs at my high school. The environment conservation club is a great example of how student-designed projects are challenging and they do require students to think by having to design, plan, and execute the project. Students may be looked down upon because they are young and inexperienced, but this thought process should not be considered because of the great things students can accomplish.

Summer projects designed by students have many benefits for the teachers and students, it is evident that students learning from each other is a great way to learn and understand ideas in a whole new perspective. Without student-designed projects it would be difficult for students to show for their knowledge or creativity at school and many of them would struggle. It is also important to understand the importance of giving students the opportunity to design their own project because it always them to take their ideas out to the world and help the environment and people along the way.