Alisa, a 4th grader in Denise Waters’ class at Norman Rockwell Elementary, asks, “What do you mean by ‘put your life where your mouth is’?”
By the way, I think she is referring to a phrase I use on the Kickstarter project page.
Alisa, I hear many opinions on the road. People tell me do this but don’t do that, go here but don’t go there, etc.
I ask them why or why not, and then I ask them how they know these things. They often say, “I see it on the news.”
I ask them if the news provides an accurate portrayal of the world. They often reply, “No.”
I ask them why they have these opinions if they got them from the news and know that the news is not an accurate portrayal of life. They often say, “Because the news is our only source of information on this subject.”
If you know your source is bad, do not use it to form an opinion. Instead, do not have an opinion. It is often more difficult to not have an opinion than to have one. However, your opinions are important. Do not be lazy in their formation.
Then when you’ve formed an opinion, have enough faith in it to test it, see where it breaks, and then make it stronger. That is what I mean by “put your life where your mouth is.”
I know, I’ve answered a couple of Alisa’s questions already. I’ll get on to the other students’ questions, it’s just that Alisa asked so many, and I love it when someone asks a lot of questions!