When the final school bell of the year rings through the halls, students feel a sense of relief and bliss. Finally free from the confines of exams, strict teachers, and long nights, they can't help but sprint out of the classroom door. That feeling of relief and bliss comes to a halt when summer projects are introduced. These teacher-designed projects are often monotonous and unnecessarily complicated; however, all of that could change if students could take on the task of continuing their learning over the break. Although some argue that students do have the maturity to do so, summer projects should be student-designed because hands-on learning has proven to be more beneficial, every student possesses different learning styles, and is more enjoyable.

It is apparent, as shown in several studies, that students better understand material when they themselves get involved. When a student creates his or her own summer project, they have done extensive research, rehearsed the material, and also have demonstrated their knowledge on the subject. Simply completing a fill-in-the-blank packet is not as beneficial to the student as creating their own. The student must first research the definitions and understand them. Then the student will strengthen that understanding by putting the words into context. Finally, the student will create the activity and combine all of their knowledge.

Creating an activity or project is much more difficult than following directions and completing one. Designing the students' own project requires higher level thinking and demonstrates mastery of the material. Students should be able to design their own summer projects because being hands-on allows students to comprehend curriculum better and develop complex thinking skills.

Summer projects aim to further education while on vacation. However, students will not thrive under the same project because not every student comprehends information the same way. A student who works best during a lecture is not going to be able to succeed when given a textbook to read. Take, for example, a student is tasked with creating a tangible model of an animal cell. Some students might benefit from assembling all of the organelles together while others might find the that cutting and gluing distracts from the learning; some students might begin to worry more about the presentation that the actual material. In another scenario, a teacher assigns an essay on the make-up of the animal cell. Some students thrived when writing a straight-forward paper while others would rather craft an example to demonstrate their knowledge. If students were authorized to create their own summer projects, they could all show their efficiency in the curriculum.

Allowing students to create their own summer projects gives them creative freedom and makes the experience enjoyable and educational. When students are able to incorporate their interests into their work , they are more successful in understanding the information. When students work on assignments that allows for self-expression, they are less likely to procrastinate because they are interested and knowledgeable in that field. If a student is tasked with creating some sort of activity that practices grammar, they might choose to do a racing board game because they love NASCAR. That student will be excited to design the board game and will likely be productive because they are truly interested. They'll give more attention to this project and its material because they've associated it with an interest of theirs. Creative freedom increases productivity and positive attitude in the classroom.

However, some argue that allowing students to design their own projects gives them too much control. Questions arise as to how the teacher will ensure that the student understands the material without set guidelines. The lack of supervision over students is daunting to many. Nevertheless, students should be able to create their own projects because they learn better that way.

Summer projects should be designed by the student for the student. Students know themselves and how they work best to excel in a classroom setting. They also have the ability to make learning enjoyable as opposed to being tiresome. Education over the summer should be an invigorating use of time and not a chore dished out by the school. Tasking students with creating their own projects ensures that they will develop higher level thinking skills through hands-on learning. Students should be authorized to design their own summer projects because hands-on learning positively affects students, every student has different learning styles, and is more fun for students.