Many schools require students to complete summer projects or assignments over summer break to ensure that they continue to learn during their break. In this case the projects that are assigned over break should be student designed because students are more likely to do them, they can design something outside of the classroom, and will learn skills from designing their own projects.

Firstly, if summer homework is assigned students are not likely to begin that homework until school is right around the corner again; at the point the only purpose the homework has is to refresh the students' memory. However, if projects are put in place of homework then the student will be more likely to start earlier in the summer. Additionally, if students design their own projects then they will instantly be more likely to do them, especially if they are allowed to pick a topic that interests them. For instance, at Generic_School there is one notorious class that gives summer homework. The way the teacher incentivizes doing the homework is by having a quiz within the first week of school on the summer homework. This is an unproductive way of going about this because the student now has a boring textbook that he must trudge through, plus if the student has high anxiety then they will worry the whole summer effectively making their "break" useless. If the teacher was to let the students pick a topic within chemistry and then research on their own then students wouldn't stress because they can pick a topic that truly interests them. Continuing with this example there are many subjects within chemistry that would be interesting to students such as chromotagraphy or the way molecules react to temperatures, reactivity in water, etc. Students would be more productive or excited and less worried about their summer project.

Another possible benefit from letting students design their own projects is that they could choose something that is not traditionally taught within their core classes. The student would still be learning even if they are not planning on taking that class or is currently taking it. A student from the Generic_School was able to design and test an experiment while working for UVA over the summer. The student's project was about testing the effects of bacteria on a certain type of plant, yet the same student has not taken AP Biology and does not intend to do so in his senior year. When students design their projects they would be able to be creative and come up with something that would be relevant to their own interests. The projects could also force them to build connects in the world as they search for a place to conduct their experiment or resources that would help them. Students could reach out to places like UVA or research facilities or teachers in the school that they don't have for knowledge about their project.

Finally, many people worry that if students are allowed to create their own projects then they would be completely pointless, or have no benefit. That worry is not necessarily true; even if the students' project does not have a real world application or a use as soon as they finish, the project still has value. Designing and completing these projects show students what it is like to go through this process from start to end. No matter what the outcome of the project is it still serves it's primary function; to keep kids learning over the summer. Some of the most famous science experiments don't work, these help future scientists decipher what will work. If students need to continue to learn over the summer it should be in a free way, this way students are allowed to explore options they might consider going into after school but don't have the opportunity to pursue during school. Students also need a break, they need time to relax and not worry about school that way they can come back refreshed.

Schools that require summer projects to be done should allow their students to use their creativity and choose a project that interests them, even if the subject isn't one of their classes. Student designed projects would lead to a higher completion rate,a broader span of subjects within projects, and whatever the outcome the student would learn skills to help them in the future. In the end, schools that let students design their projects would see a continuance in learning over the summer ensuring the main reason for assigning a project in the first place. Students keep learning during their break.