The three warmest months of the year are considered as time off from school for students in the U.S and other countries. Even though these students aren't in school, they are still required to learn during their break. However, in many schools, the students are assigned a boring, uneventful activity that they feel as if they have no choice but to do. Reasons such as this are why students should be able to design their own summer projects; these tasks that they create for themselves can be used as an outlet for creativity, show signs of independence, and they can be used as a way of teaching responsibility.

One reason students should be able to design their own summer assignments is that they can be used as creative outlets. Many private performance arts schools require that their students create an art piece that corresponds with their fields of study. For example, photography and art students are told that they are to paint, photograph, design, etc anything they wish over break; that they have complete say in what they do. But, whatever work that they submit will be entered into their school portfolio (which is a collection of a students or artists best work). Being given free range of what they can do gives the student the chance to be as creative as they can be. And in many cases such as these, the pieces that the students are able to be the most creative on are some of their best work.

Another reason students should be able to create their own summer projects is because it can a be sign of independence. Being given an assignment and being told that they have to do it in a specific way can be boring to a teenager, especially one going through their rebellious phase. Yet, if a teenager were given the chance to make their own choices, it would give them the opportunity to test their indepencence. Such as being able to choose what they get to do for their project and how they decide to do it. This small, simple opportunity can show a student what it's like to test themselves and have complete control over what they do instead of being told.

Finally, students would benefit from designing their own summer break assignments because of the responsibility that it would ensue. Summer break is thought of as a time for fun and relaxation for just about all students, especially high schoolers. So the idea of being assigned piles of homework or a large project can cause a student to either want to shutdown or just completely avoid it all together. However, if a student were able to choose what they do for their work, in many cases, it will cause them to actually want to do it. It can make the student stop and think about what they have to work on, and then they will (typically) either stop what theyr'e doing to work on it, or they will set aside a certain time that they'll do it. The thought of "oh, I have to go do my work" will cross their mind because they actually want to do it, then causing them to make their work a priority.

Now, it is well know that many students need the structure that comes along with the teacher-designed projects because it can be harder for some to come up with ideas, but more often than not, that is not the case. Students leave school for three months just to be loaded down with extra homework; saying that they have no choice but to do it will either cause a teenager to go stir crazy, or they become extremely unmotivated to do any of it at all. However, if given the chance to make their own decisions on how to do their project, a student would feel more motivated to do the work because it's their choice on what's being done. All in all, it would be more beneficial for students to create their own projects rather than a mandetory, teacher-designed one due to the sheer facts that it would be a way for students to be more creative, it would give the students the chance to be more independent, and finally, it can be a way to teach students how to be more responsible.