Summer break is the declaration of emancipation that sets students free from the abyss of school. The simple thought of summer elicits euphoria: late night movie marathons, hanging out with friends during weekdays, and sleeping in without having to worry about homework or exams. Nevertheless, there is one thing that keeps students' desks occupied during this relaxing break: summer projects. The disappointment of summer assignments is universal; I experienced this unpleasant disruption of paradise in both Korea and the United States. Having to complete projects during summer is stressful and time consuming--time that could be spent having fun with friends and family. Making summer projects student-designed rather than teacher-designed would therefore enable students to use their imaginations to implement and store their knowledge in a creative way, experiment with interests and passions, and enjoy their break stress-free while promoting their intrinsic motivation at the same time.

The entire school year is based on teacher-designed learning systems. Students complete worksheets and tests created by teachers, and projects itself are also designed by teachers--students are expected to follow a specific rubric with which they are graded based on. This rigid, inflexible system of learning prohibits students from expressing their creativity in fear of getting a bad grade. Thus, summer break should be preserved as a time for students to use their own imagination and creativity to complete a project that would help them maintain what they learned during the school year. For example, a student-designed summer project for a science class would encourage a student's thinking as they would be given the freedom to choose any topic that strike their interest to experiment or research on. On the other hand, a teacher-designed science project would simply be filling out packets of worksheets from academic readings. I have experience with the latter teacher-designed project from my sophomore year of high school. For my AP Biology class, I was given summer homework for which I had to read a biology textbook and complete worksheets. Looking back, I can say that the hours of reading were not helpful to my overall success in the course because I would fill the blanks without really understanding the information, or simply copy off of my friends.

In addition to providing an opportunity for use of creativity, summer is the perfect time to experiment with your interests and learn new skills. During school, students are so focused on studying to get good grades that they do not have the time to take a second and consider what their passion is. The long summer breaks are the once-a-year chance for students to explore and discover interests. To take my experience for example, my 6th grade summer homework in Korea was to complete tasks related to music and science--no specific guidelines or rubrics provided. That summer, I went to a music camp for a month where I practiced orchestral music with fellow musicians. For the science portion, I learned how to fix a leaking toilet, install new lights on the ceiling, and change the filter of a water fountain connected to a bathroom from my dad. Not only did these tasks complete my summer project, it was beneficial to me as I developed a passion for music and also learned valuable life skills.

Above all the benefits of summer break, the number one reason why students look forward to summer is probably because of the relief of stress. Summer is a time of break from school. During summer, students spend time with friends and family to enjoy the long break before entering the stressful school year. However, the amount of summer projects given, exclusively teacher-designed, seems to negatively correlate with the amount of stress relieved during summer from the school year. If students were allowed to create their own projects, they would be less stressed as opposed to when teachers assign them projects with strict requirements no different from the standard school work. For example, rather than English teachers assigning a list of books for students to read and annotate, allowing students to choose their own books would encourage many to actually complete the task. Having the freedom to choose their own book would be appealing as they would not be restricted to the expectations of school courses. This would help to moderate the stress from the project and instead provide intrinsic motivation for the students to continue learning over the summer.

A good solution for students' hatred toward summer assignments is enabling them to create their own project. Not only do student-designed projects promote creativity and high-level thinking, they also allow students to explore their interests and acquire new abilities. Moreover, having the freedom to choose their own projects lessens the stress of having to take the time out of their break to complete an assignment as well as strengthening their intrinsic motivation.