Summer is known as the time when students get to have a long break from their studies. However, some schools continue the education of the students by assigning summer projects. Most of the time, these projects are created by the teachers. Now, some schools are starting to allow the students to choose both the topic of their summer project and the method of completion, as opposed to everyone getting the same assignment from the teacher. Summer projects should be student designed, because students have individual interests, they have their own project styles, and teachers will have less issues to deal with.

Every student in the entire world is different. Everyone has a favorite topic that they like to research or study. Summer vacation is supposed to be a time to relax and take a break from school, so forcing them to research a topic that they do not enjoy takes away from the relaxation of summer. Students would be much happier to research a topic that they personally enjoy. If someone is a big fan of history, they would much rather do a project on the first world war than on biology. The students would also do a better job on the project, because they may already have lots of knowledge on their topic. They would also put more work into the project itself, since it is about something they enjoy.

Similarly, everyone has a prefered method of completing a project. Some would like to record a skit or news report for their project, while others may want to build a scale model. If they are able to choose their project completion method, students will also do a better job on the project, since they will most likely pick a method that they are already experienced at. Someone who studies engineering will be able to build a much better model of a house then someone who studies theater.

Summer projects will also be more enjoyable for teachers. A teacher is usually a student's first resource when it comes to asking questions about an assignment. Teachers will be asked a lot less questions if the students pick topic that they enjoy and have a thorough understanding of. There will also be less lazy or unfinished work for the teachers to sift through at the end of summer, because students will be more motivated to complete the assignment if it is about a topic that they like and a method that they like.

Some may say that teachers need to make summer assignments, because it will lead to a more consistent grading scale, but it will still be easier to grade the projects consistantly if it is all quality work that the student enjoyed completing. Summer projects will be much more enjoyed by the students if they get to pick their own topics and methods of completion, and by the the teachers, because they will have an easier time with assisting and grading students