Schools that require summer projects allow their students to keep actively learning. Summer projects demand research and most importantly, work ethic. These projects must be of interest to the students due to the fact it'll be done over the summer; a time where every student wishes to spend every hour of each day enjoying themselves. The self-awareness and intellect of each student will reflect through every project and show the efforts they put into their project, as well as broadening the understanding of teachers, and students, through student-designed projects.

To begin with, student-designed projects will allow each student to show their self-awareness and intellect. The generation we live in today has the extraordinary opportunity to have diverse cultures and backgrounds with different ideas and beliefs; with the help of technology, every student has a different vision of what they're interested in and what they can make of that. Unfortunately, some students are underestimated in society due to the color of their skin or heritage. Through a student-designed project, each student can make their visions come to life through their projects. For example, my friends were doing research over the summer for potential science fair projects. While some were doing this for a good grade, others were doing this for a reason that sparked interest in them. I've seen multiple science fair projects on the topic of cancer or ways to obtain clean water. Although it is just a project, they've been inspired because they've either had ill family members or came from third-world countries that had scarce resources. Furthermore, they began pondering of how this could help them and the millions of other people in the world. These student-designed projects allow students to show their intellect and understanding of the world around them.

Secondly, the efforts of each student will be seen clearly through student-designed projects. Naturally, we are pulled to things that interest us more, especially during the summer. Every student sees the summer as a way to slack off and spend their days doing activities that interest them. Thus, a project that interests a student will likely catch their attention and lead them to work harder on said project. For instance, if your boss nags at you to complete a project during your vacation days and it doesn't spark interest in you, chances are you won't do your best job. However, if your boss gives you the project of creating or researching anything of your choice, you may find yourself vigorously working towards a perfect outcome. Hence why student-designed projects may be more successful for students over the summer.

Lastly, every student and teacher can widen their understandings and learn something new and different through a simple student-designed project. Due to the fact that many topics are not covered in the majority of school requirements; not only the student learn something new, but the teacher as well. Therefore, the student will be exposed to more branches of knowledge and have the opportunity to share this with their teachers. For example, the student may encounter topics about what is currently going on in the world and tie it around something they've already learned. Although it isn't necessary, this will help the students understand what they already know. Then, once they can present their projects, the teacher as well will be informed of such topic, and thus, learn from their students and understand their own teaching better. Furthermore, this may even help the teachers teach certain topics with better examples and connections around the world. Although it may be a simple summer project, a teacher's understanding can be broadened through even one student's project.

In conclusion, every student's intellect and work ethic can be shown through a student-designed project, as well as the potential chances of the student and teacher broadening their knowledge and learning new topics. Students have different potential, interests, and knowledge, thus it would be a blessing for schools to switch to student-designed projects. As stated before, things that interest us are more likely to pull our full attention and energy, rather than things we view as work; especially in times like summer vacation. Unfortunately for students, many schools will continue to require teacher-designed projects and may not be changing any time soon. Although many may believe that student-designed projects are a waste of time, the essence of every student is reflected through these projects.