Summer break can lead to a fallback in students' learning from the previous year. In order to combat this problem, many schools have projects for the students over summer break to ensure that students maintain the skills that they learned in school. Some of these projects might require a lot of work, while others are less labor intensive. However, one thing is true for all of these projects. They should be student designed because this insures that the students will be engaged with the project, gives teachers a better understanding of what students are passionate about, and is the most fair way to give students work over a break.

Having students design their own projects will ensure that the project is something that the students actually enjoy doing. Firstly, because they have choice in what they do, the students will be able to pick a subject or manner of presentation that they are excited about. If the teacher were to assign the same project to every student without allowing the students to have any say in what they actually end up doing, there would defiantly be students who are not interested in the project. Secondly, the students will also understand the project better. The students will have designed their own project, so they will know exactly what the outcome is supposed to be like and how to get there. Many projects are hard for students because they are not actually aware of what they are intended to do, so by allowing the students to design their own project, the school ensures that the students will completely comprehend it. Lastly, having the project be designed by students means that the students will be given more opportunity for creativity. Because the students more liberty over their project, they will be able to use more of their own unique ideas in the project.

Allowing students to design their own project is also better for the teachers. First of all, the teachers responsible for grading the project will be given an opportunity to better understand their students before the school year ever starts. This understanding is because students are allowed to express themselves more through a project they designed themselves. Secondly, the teachers will not have to worry about making different projects for different levels of students, or about having to make a project that will interest many different types of students because the students will be responsible for making the project work for their level of understanding and interests. Lastly, the teachers will be provided a time to learn things that they would not have a chance to learn otherwise. This is because the students are given the opportunity for creativity, so they may choose to do a project about something that a teacher may have know previous knowledge of.

Allowing students to design their own summer projects is a more fair way to assign work over the summer holiday. To begin, the students have been completing teacher designed work all school year, so it is only fair to give the students a break and allow them to design their own projects. Additionally, the projects are assigned as work over the summer, so they should not feel like the same work that students are being assigned all year long. Because the students have been working very diligently over the year to complete many different types of assignments from teachers. It would not be fair to the students to essentially continue that trend of assignments into the vacation. Finally, a student designed projects allows for more flexibility. This flexibility allows the students the opportunity to create a project that will be conducive to a busy summer schedule. Many students have to travel or go to summer camps, so they mightn not be able to complete to work which a teacher who does not know the summer plans of a students designs. However, it the student designs their own project, they will be able to make it work with their summer schedule.

If a school assigns a summer project to their students, the project should be student designed. there re many different ways to continue learning when formal school is on a break, but a student designed project will allow for creativity, flexibility, and be better for teachers as well as students. Above all, schools should focus on educating students in a way that allows them creating and ensure that they are passionate about what they learn, if not students will never develop a life long love of education.