Thread by @ClaireBerlinski

We're still in Amy Kobluchar's teenage years. "For the most part our high school debates were confined to meandering discussions in Mr. Lewis's social studies class, once-a-year visits from our local Republican legislator ...

https://twitter.com/ClaireBerlinski/status/1138324686926942208

... and late-night ruminations on the meanings of the lyrics to Stairway to Heaven."

"'Ooooh, it makes me wonder.' And wonder we did."

The feminist movement received little attention at her high school. "The one area where equality reigned was in academic achievement."

(And the only area it *needs* to reign in high school, surely?)

"But no matter how many 'way to go' signs we got from our teachers, they carried little weight compared to the premium placed on good looks, invitations to class dances, getting a red carnation delivered to you in the middle of class during Heart Week .. "

"Thankfully," she writes," much has changed since I attended high school ... "

(I see no "thankfully" about it, but I'm not sure what exactly she thinks has changed for the better.)

(Surely she can't believe that since then, teenage girls have ceased to care about these things? Who is she talking about when she says "they carried little weight?")

(It sounds as if the girls were hormonal, which is what you'd expect, and the teachers encouraged them to focus on school, which is also what you'd expect.)

We have a story of the prom. "Looking back on those years, I'm amazed that more didn't go wrong. The wrong party or the wrong boy or the wrong car with the wrong driver ... "

"The sexual revolution had finally reached the Twin Cities suburbs, resulting in memorable truth-or-dare games in the basement ... drive-ins were really hot."

Descriptions of high-school pranks. In a nostalgic tone, but not overwritten.

LESSONS LEARNED

1) Though the school wasn't racially diverse, it was demographically diverse. Some came from wealthy families; some from rural farms. Most were in the middle.

2) The teachers truly cared about them and believed they were capable of learning.

3) Her parents instilled in her the importance of doing her best.

"Between my friends, my teachers, and my parents, I somehow managed to buck the norms of the 1970s." (I'm not sure how. She's described participating in every ritual the 1970s were about.)

"I learned the importance of balance in high school. I learned the importance of trusted friends, and mixing it up with people who are very different from me."

"Most important, I learned the lyrics to Stairway to Heaven."

I don't get it. How did she buck the norms of the 1970s? Her parents got divorced; teenage girls had a ton of freedom and fun, except for the ones who died in car crashes; there was a vast, optimistic middle class, and everyone listened to Stairway to Heaven.

Those were the norms of the 1970s.

Anyway: End of chapter.