All over the United states, students are given the task of completing summer projects over summer break. Teachers assign projects such as review packets or books in an attempt to keep their rising students from forgetting the materials they have learned. Some teacher even require students to continue learning and provide their students with information introducing new topics. Summer projects are usually assigned by the next years teacher, completed over summer break, and eventually turned in on the first day of school.

Some may say that summer projects should be teacher-designed; However, schools should give students the responsibilities of designing their own summer projects, projects designed by students will be more personalized, beneficial and motivating to the students.

Student-designed summer projects will be more fitting and personalized to each individual. Rather than being assigned a project by a teacher, students should be required to pick a topic that truly interests them and find their own way of relating it back to the class. Applying this concept makes each project unique since every individual is different with a variety of interests. For instance, if assigned a summer project for history class, a student interested in the medical field may choose to research a new condition and connect it back to the history of medicine; meanwhile, a student who loves art may choose to research their favorite artist of a certain time period and related back to a different aspect of the class' curriculum. The two students may struggle if given the same topic due to their varying points of interest. Schools can not expect students to have the same skill basis and interests. By allowing the student to choose his or her own project, schools are creating a platform for more diverse ideas. This allows the student to show their true personality and can help teachers in getting to know their new students. If a teacher were to make a summer project it would be less original and may lack in creativity when compared to the different ideas in the classroom. In order to achieve new and uniquely personalized projects, students should choose their own topics and how they wish to carry out the project.

A project designed by the student will show more benefits with time. The student has a better understanding of their own strengths and weaknesses when compared to a teacher that has most likely never meet them. Students who choose their own projects can decide on a topic that will apply to their future path or that can help them improve on current hobbies. The same student who was interested in art can designate their project to learning the techniques of an artist he or she admires. This will benefit the students art work and possibly even their future career. The same concept can be applied to the student interested in medicine. He or she can ask to interview a professional for a project. This can give the student a peek into the medical world, which may help them in deciding if it's the right path for him or her when the time comes. When used responsibly, student-designed project will give the students the upper hand in the future. The endless benefits of students designing their own projects out weigh those of teacher-designed summer projects.

Student-designed projects motivate the students by providing them with the opportunities to choose a topic they are interested in. A student is more likely to complete a task they like than they are a project they dislike. As a student in the eleventh grade, I have had many summer projects over the years; I know students that have decides not to completed their assigned summer assignment due to a lack of interest of the topic of that specific project. If the students got to choose their own projects, there would be a lower percent of students who fail to complete their summer work. In general people have the tendency to be better motivated by eccentric drives; allowing a student to have a say in what they are interested in moves the focus of the project from getting a good grade which is an external reward to "what am I going to learn?", an interpersonal reward. Not only would this shift in motive change the students perspective of the work they are being given, but will also increase the amount of effort put into each aspect of the project. Allowing the students to pick their own projects will improve their performance and will allow them to take away more from the project than if they had done it without care.

Although teacher-designed summer projects tend to be more standardized and fairly graded, the benefits of student-designed summer projects are incomparable. Schools should implement the idea of student-designed projects to stimulate the students creativity. By making the switch to student-designed summer project, schools are encouraging their students to branch out and to get involved in topics that interest them. This betters the student body by allowing students to express their own interests, benefit from the information they are learning and pushes them to getting the most out of their summer work .

The application of student-designed summer projects reinforces the true intention of the projects themselves.