Some schools across the nation requires students to complete summer projects in order to promote learning among students while they are on break. These projects that the students have to complete should be student-designed because it would help the student find something that they are good at and give them a better opportunity to succeed, it would make them feel involved in what they are learning, the project would fit the interests of the students and it would make grading easier for the teacher.

Having student-designed projects would make the student more interesting in what they are learning and it would give them a reason to want to complete the project. The student should be able to choose their topic along with the medium that they want to use to do the project. If the student is more interested in the topic that they are working on, it could make learning fun for them and give them the motivation to work hard on the project and learn new things. The summer projects are designed to assure that learning is continued during break, so if learning is fun, there is a better chance that student would want to do it. Although the project would be designed by the student, there should be a set of parameters that they have to stay within. For example, it would have to be about something from the area of the world that they will be learning about next year and the project would have to contain a certain amount of information about the topic they chose. Other than a few requirements, students should be able to work freely on their projects.

It is also important that students feel involved in the things that they are learning. It could be hard for a student to want to learn something that they have no interest in. That is why the summer projects should be designed by the student. This will allow the student to work on something that is interesting to them, even if it isn't the topic that they want, the student can choose how they want to present the project. It is possible that a student is really interested in art but they don't have the opportunity to work on any outside of their art class; the summer project can give them that opportunity and incorporate the curriculum at the same time. Making the student more interested in what they are doing along with the information that comes with it.

If summer projects were teacher-designed, it would be the same project for all students and it would most likely be the same topic. This could cause problems for both the teacher and the student. When a teacher assigns a summer project like writing an extension to a book that they have to read, some students may find it to be their bread and butter, something they can do with ease, while other who struggle with writing have no chance and getting a good grade. It would be fair to all students to allow them to find something that they are good at and using that to complete a project, whether that be writing a story of making an interpretive dance.

This format for the summer project would also prove beneficial to the teacher, the teacher wouldn't have to worry about trying to think of a project for the students because that would be the role of the students. All they would have to do is set a broad topic or assign a book that the project has to be based on. It would also be better for the teacher on the grading end, instead of coming in the first week of school knowing what to expect, they can be surprised with the projects created by the students and have a different experience while grading the projects. This would prove to be a lot better than just reading through twenty essays about the same thing.

Schools that require students to complete a summer project should make it so that these projects are all student-designed. Making the projects student-designed would prove beneficial to both the student and the teacher. The student will ultimately be more interested in the topic because they would have more freedom to choose, they would feel more involved in the learning process and it would give them a better opportunity to succeed. On the other hand, the teacher would have less work making the project and they would have a better experience grading different things instead of variations of the same project. Even though some students may waste away with the freedom given to them, making projects student-designed is clearly the right choice.