Have you ever been required to do something but had no say in it? Students face this problem almost everyday, whether it is homework, tests, or quizzes. Summer is the time of the year that students can chose what and how they want to do things, that is why summer break is so popular. During these breaks, some schools require students to complete summer projects so that they continue learning during the time off. Although some believe these summer projects should be teacher-designed because teachers are more responsible, the summer projects should be student-designed because it will make students more motivated, more independent, and more social.

First, making the summer projects student-designed will provide more motivation for the students. Being told to do something and wanting to do something are two complete different things. For example, a student plans on doing homework when they get home because they want to, then the student's teacher tells them to do the homework numerous times. The student can react in many ways, but often it makes them less motivated to complete the task after they are told to do it. If students chose which projects to complete on breaks, they would be much more enjoyable and motivated. When students are told to complete projects and are not interested in it, chances are they will not learn much material either. If students lack motivation, then the whole project is about getting a grade that is beneficial to them and not actually learning. Overall, if students design their own summer projects, they will be more motivated to complete them.

Second, student-designed projects will enable students to be more independent. Choosing what to spend time on can be a difficult choice and if students are given that opportunity to pick what they do, then they are getting the chance to be independent. If teachers make the decisions all the time, then students learn to be told what and how to do things. Students need to learn how to do things by themselves. To illustrate, a child gets told how and what to do his whole life and then when he becomes an adult he cannot make decisions for himself. This is because the child never got the chance to choose how to do something by himself, he was always told by an adult. Students should not have to face the same problem, they should be more independent and have a say in their assignments. All in all, letting students design their summer projects will allow them to be more independent.

Third, giving students the chance to design their own projects will help them build better social skills. Only students know what is best for them. Giving them an opportunity to talk with each other about what they want, will tremendously improve their skills to be social. For example, a student feels left out because they are not interested in what they are doing, and have no motivation to talk to others. If they had the chance to choose what interests them, it could motivate them to talk to others, then they would become more social. Many students struggle with social skills, but that could change if they got to have a say in what they do on their break. Overall, student-designed projects will improve social skills among students.

Lastly, students relate best to their peers and giving all of them the chance to design a project together is beneficial for teachers too. It gives teachers the opportunity to get grading and other things done as well. If students work together and come up with a project that interests them all, then all of the learning comes easy. Student-designed projects are better because students learn and can have many enjoyable moments at the same time. In conclusion, the summer projects that schools give out over break should be student-designed because it will be more motivating to students, make them more independent, and improve their social skills.