What was the conventional view of education in San Diego? Why were Padre Damaso and, later on, Padre Salvi, against such innovation? How did race figure in their opposition?

In Noli Me Tángere, education is portrayed as an important means of fighting oppression. Despite his mestizo heritage, Ibarra is able to become a prominent, respected member of the community because of the education he obtains in Europe, which allows him to create new opportunities for the next generation of Filipino youth by creating a school for them. Yet the power of education has limits. For example, the church prevents Filipinos from learning Spanish in school, which essentially prevents them from obtaining the most prestigious jobs in the colonial society. Furthermore, though he is highly educated, Tasio is ridiculed by most of society because his values and ideas differ from those of the norm. In addition, Rizal shows that the revolutionary potential of education is limited. Despite the education he has obtained, Ibarra is naive when it comes to understanding the extent of the oppression Filipinos face in colonial society, and he requires a great deal of informal education from his friend Elías before he can truly be proud to be a “subversive.”