Leonid Bershidsky, Columnist

Greta Thunberg’s Other Lesson Is About School

The Swedish climate change activist shows compulsory attendance shouldn't be universal.

June 18, 2019 at 12:21 PM UTC

Leonid Bershidsky, formerly Bloomberg Opinion’s Europe columnist, is a member of the Bloomberg News Automation Team. He recently published Russian translations of George Orwell’s “1984” and Franz Kafka’s “The Trial.”

Swedish environmental campaigner Greta Thunberg.
Photographer: Leon Neal/Getty Images.

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Greta Thunberg, the 16-year-old Swedish climate activist who started the Friday school strikes, has graduated from secondary education with 14 As and three Bs.

She got these excellent grades despite being absent from class far more than most of her followers: As the leader of a movement, an international celebrity, and a Nobel Peace Prize nominee, she traveled extensively during her last school year.