Everybody Wants Something Different

What this means

Line up ten kids and ask each one what they would buy with the same amount of money. You will get ten different answers. One wants art supplies. One wants a soccer ball. One wants a book. One wants to take their little brother out for ice cream.

Nobody is wrong. What you like better than other things is called your preferenceWhat you like more, compared to other things you could have instead.. Preferences come from what you enjoy, what you are already good at, what your family does, and what you are curious about. Two people can be equally smart and equally kind and still want completely different things.

There is a second way people differ, and it is not the same thing. People have different resourcesThe money, time, and things a person has available to use.. That means the amount of money available is not the same for everybody. Some families have more to spend. Some have less. Some have a lot one year and less the next. This is true in every classroom, including yours, and it is not something anyone chose or should feel bad about.

So when two people buy different things, there can be two different reasons. Maybe they want different things. Maybe they have different amounts to spend. Usually it is a little of both.

That leads to the important part. Because money runs out, you cannot buy everything you want, no matter how much you have. So you put your wants in order. Deciding what comes first, second, and third is called setting your prioritiesPutting your wants in order so the most important ones come first.. The list starts with what matters most to you and works down. When the money runs out, you stop.

Why it matters

You already do this. When you get birthday money, you probably do not spend it in the first five minutes on the first thing you see. You think about it. You compare. You maybe wait. That thinking is the skill this lesson is about, and it gets more useful as the amounts get bigger.

Knowing that people differ also makes you easier to be around. If a friend does not want the thing you want, they are not being strange. If a friend cannot buy the thing you bought, that is about resources, not about them. Understanding this quietly, without making it a big deal, is a genuinely grown-up thing to be able to do.

Try it

1. On your own paper, list at least eight things you would like to have or do sometime in the next year. Include things that cost a little and things that cost a lot. Include at least one that is an experience, not an object, like a trip or a class.
2. Next to each one, write "soon" or "later."
3. Now put the whole list in order, from the one you want most to the one you want least. Only you can do this. Nobody can tell you that your number one is wrong.
4. Compare lists with a partner. Find two things that are on both lists and two things that are on only one. Talk about why.
5. As a class, make a chart of everything people wanted. Count how many different items appeared in total. The number is usually surprising.
6. Now bring in limits. Pretend everyone in the room gets the same amount of imaginary money, and it is nowhere near enough for everything on your list. Draw a line on your list showing where the money would run out. What made the cut? What did not?
7. Write one sentence explaining why the thing at the top of your list is at the top. Then write one sentence about what you would have to give up to get it.
8. Try it once more with half the imaginary money. Did your top choice stay the same? Notice that having less does not usually change what you want most. It changes how long you have to wait.

Check yourself