Relaxing and warm, the summer approaches after a year of trecherous hard work and learning. But that needed break is interupted by a project that is due at the end of the summer. Over the summer projects should be student designed to allow creativity, inclusivity and give students opportunity to learn about a topic they are passionate about.

During the school year all projects have rubrics, exact instructions and little time to add personal creative touches, but with elongated time and less strict boundries students will be able to tap into their inner creativity and manifest a project that is new and interesting for anyone that views it. Students will be more proud of their project if they have extra time and freedom to make it personal by adding creativity. Often the classroom limits creatvity, so when they are outside of the classroom students should have the room to be as creative as possible. Esspecially because when students are out of school and in the real world creativity is going to be encouraged, so why not start allowing students to utilize their creative mind in a safe environment.

Over the summer students are at home and do not have the resources avaliable that are typically exposed to in a school. Without these resources students might not be able to create a project that is teacher designed. A student designed project, however, would allow students to use their surronding to create a project unique to them. This will allow them feel more connected to the project and encourage them to create somthing excellent. Everyone has a range of strengths and weaknesses and by allowing students to design their own project they will feel more included and are then able to tailor the project to their strengths. If the project is somthing that the student is good at then they will be able to create a better finishing product. In my AP Biology class we do lots of projects, but I'm always less passionate and frusterated by the projects that envolve drawing because it is one of my weaknesses. If the projects were student designed I would be able to create a project that I was really interested in making.

It may seem like a student designed project could be less neat and careless but if the student is passionate about their topic then they will be interested in designing. It will also be important to them, so they will work hard to make it the best they can. My favorite class is psychology and whenever I have a project in that class I want to spend extra time on it and make sure it is good because the topic is important to me. A student designed project is also benefical because students are only outside of school for the summer and on short breaks, so why not utlize this new freedom of being out of school to allow students to design their own project they are passionate about.

A student designed project that allows them to explore passions could inspire a students future career and allow them to learn about something that could further their education in a useful way. If they are passionate about the topic the project will seem less like a burden and more like an opportuntity to make learning fun. If the project is student designed and they are really passionate about it they may decide to continue the project even after it is done. This could end up benefitting the community by supplying a learning tool or by helping a group of people in need.

Allowing over the summer projects to be student designed will allow students to be creative, inclusive to all student environments and strengths and provide an opportuity for students to explore on of their passions in depth. All of these things are benefical to the student and should be encouraged, so that students can grow and learn outside of school as well as during the school year.