Melanie Cervantes Education For Liberation Analysis

Potential students in South Africa cannot afford to pursue higher education, and since 2015, South African graduate students have been protesting to demand for a reduction in school fees. The issue of race and class that has not been addressed for more than two decades in South Africa and matters of efficacy, resources and opportunities has lead people to participate in these protests. Melanie Cervantes is the co-founder of Dignidad Rebelde which is a graphic arts alliance between Cervantes and Jesus Barraza based in Oakland. The image by Melanie Cervantes is a handmade print that was published in San Leandro, 2015/2016 titled "Education for Liberation." In the picture, a young boy holds a megaphone on his right hand and with his fist in the …show more content…
If a transformation of the education system is necessary then there is a need to transform the whole society. Education for liberation, therefore, calls for a change in the policy of the society. It means changing the school system so that the oppressed can achieve power. In so doing it will be possible to take into account the needs of each individuals within the society. Additionally, the implications on the educator are crucial to the transformation as the educator should understand the processes of change at work so to understand the dynamism of education and the society. There lies no particular guidelines that the educator can follow in certain situations, but they should understand the pessimism associated with such a …show more content…
Education advocates for "modern" pro-democratic and secular attitudes and weakens ethnic attachments (Friedman et al. 20). In third world countries, especially those that were under colonization, leaders have used education to build the nation. In this respect, it holds true that education can tone extremism, it can also serve as an object to promote cultural indoctrination and social control. It could serve as instrumental in saving the oppressed through social change. Besides, education plays an important role empowering individuals within the society politically and socially. As mentioned previously, the mental freedom that comes with education can lead those previously oppressed such as slaves, and immigrants to a position of self empowerment that is necessary in democracy. The educated within the society tend to have more political information, and they are also more aware of the social issues affecting the community than the illiterate. Policies that surround education highly depend on the political impacts that education will have in the society. This is why democracy needs education or else only a small group will be left to make all the