LIFE GOES ON~JACK LEARNS THE CONCEPT OF THE PROCESS OF ELIMINATION

Grandson Jack, Grandma

A friend in my youth, George Pringle, always searched for the answer, the cure, the final solution.  His enthusiasm was contagious, even if, back then, most of us knew his searches were fueled by the manic side of his diagnosed manic-depressive condition..

Up to this point in life I've found no answers, rejecting even some partial solutions I embraced some time ago.

Yet, in home schooling a grandson just turned eight, little formulas sometimes taken for granted, come back to mind.  Yesterday, Jack and I were reviewing the answers to a reading comprehension lesson.

The multiple choice possibilities were a little tricky, some with partial truth, others obviously off.  It was then that a simple formula, learned decades ago, came back to me.

"Jack, look for the stupid answers first," using a word he likes.

"Throw them out.  Then, see if the answer left standing makes sense.  It's called the process of elimination."

The process of elimination, such a simple, but beautifully workable concept.

Jack laughed at the prospect of kicking stupid statements to the curb, a fun, light-hearted moment in the otherwise dreariness of school.