In The Freedom Writers Diary, how does education help improve the lives of the characters?

In the form of reflection and journal writing, education
ends up playing a vital role in Gruwell's life and the lives of her students.  Through
teaching literature as an exploration of the individual in specific social contexts,
Gruwell and her students are able to explore the issues of marginalization in their own
lives and relate historical conditions of silencing voices to their own contexts.  The
result is that education bridges the gap between classroom and real world settings. 
There is a strong and passionate display between how the academic conditions of students
can filter into the predicaments they face as human beings.  Education is not in
opposition to students' world, but rather enhances it and through writing, reflection,
and embracing social solidarity, the children's lives are changed.  They envision higher
education as a reality and end up going to college, becoming "catalysts for change."  In
this vein, education becomes the tool by which social change is possible.  The ability
to envision the world as it should be as opposed to how it is becomes the critical
element in the characters' lives, and only possible through
education.