Cost Benefit Analysis

In my last post, I discussed why we should stop encouraging students to try to have it all.  It's one thing to say that, but it is very different when comes down to making choices about what they do.

Students need help, from those of us who have a lot of experience (see how I avoided calling us old) in learning to make decisions about what to have, try, or do.  There is no one size fits all experience because every kid is different.  God's plan for each is unique, and He has gifted them uniquely in order to accomplish that plan.  We cannot make decisions for them, but we can give them training in how to make those decisions.

When guiding kids to make decisions, you have to ask what are the benefits but also what are the costs.  Then, decision making becomes an even-handed analysis of the two rather than an idealistic or pessimistic look at only one side.

- If a student plays on a sports team, there are benefits - teamwork, camaraderie, a sense of achievement, and such are wonderful things.  There are also costs - practices and travel take time, potential injuries can cause problems.  

- If a student is in a play, there are benefits - camaraderie, a sense of accomplishment, creative brain training, and the like can be awesome.  There are also costs.  Rehearsals take time, and lines must be memorized at the same time other commitments are being fulfilled.

- If a student leads a mission trip, there are benefits - teamwork, spiritual development, perspective on the world are all important goals.  There are also costs - travel requires money, lost school time means make-up work.

- If a student chooses to take 5 AP Classes, there are benefits - increased learning in a variety of areas, saving tuition money if you pass the AP test, and increasing college options are great things.  There are also costs - every AP class requires more time outside of class working that the time actually spent in class, leading to a lot of late nights.


Time, like money, is a limited quantity, so the choice to spend it on one thing means I cannot spend it on another.  If I choose to spend money on a Corvette, I will not have money to buy food.  If I choose to play on a sports team, I will not have time to hang out with friends.  I know students who have attempted to combine all of the above examples in the same year.  There are only twenty-four hours in a day, so the cost that came from this combination was sleep deprivation.  When I suggested dropping something, the student replied only with the benefits.  She loved the experience of being in the play and wouldn't want to give it up; she got a lot out of leading the mission trip and was glad she did it.  I suggested that perhaps three AP classes would have been enough, and she looked at me like I was telling her to drop out of school.  Looking at only the benefits and making choices without regard to cost wore this poor child out and drained the love of learning out of her.  This is the great irony of trying to "have it all."  It makes you hate it all.

When deciding whether to add something new to your schedule, sit down and really think about it.  Make a list of both the costs and the benefits of everything you want to have in your schedule for that school year.  Decide which activities have benefits that are worth the costs and say yes to those.  It's okay to say no to the other things.