I've never had to complete a summer project before, but I know some schools do. The students may not be too thrilled about it, but these projects help them be more engaged and continue learning while they are on summer break. There are different ways that school can help make these projects at least a little bit more bearable for the students, like letting them design it themselves. Some people may believe that summer projects should be teacher-designed, but projects that are designed by the students themselves gives them more creative freedom, makes the project more enjoyable, and teaches students new things even when they aren't at school.

Student-designed projects give students the creative freedom that they need to help them get through it much easier. Whenever given very specific instructions with little to no room for creativity and individuality, it makes it very difficult for me to get through the project. I know that most students love to put their personality into their work, and when that option is stripped from them it becomes a lot less interesting to complete. When teachers let kids express themselves through their work, more often than not, the results that come out of it are much better than if they weren't.

Letting the students help decided the requirements and aspects of the project makes it much more enjoyable than if the teacher were to just give instructions and everyone has to just do one thing. I hate doing projects most of the time because I'm always just given a topic and requirements and am let go to just do whatever work the teacher gave me. I've always found it much easier to do projects when we are allowed to choose what we do them about things that we truly enjoy learning about.

It's no surprise that students probably don't want to be spending their summer break doing homework, but giving them a project can actually be quite beneficial to them academically. By assigning a summer project, students have the opportunity to continue learning even when school is out. When teachers let the students decide for themselves exactly what the project should include, they are going to have a lot more fun with it; in fact, it may actually help them complete the project and impact their studies even farther. When given the opportunity to research something that they are truly interested in and passionate about, the outcome quality would be truly wonderful.

Some people feel that summer projects are more effective when created by teachers because it gives students a similar academic basis for what they should be working on; however, student-based projects are a better choice because it gives more creative freedom to the students, the project itself becomes more enjoyable, and helps students continue learning even when out of school. Kids love being able to do things they are passionate about, and letting them help with assigning their own projects gives them the opportunity for greatness.