What is it about?
Carmen Lyra was a Costa Rican teacher, writer, and activist who fought for social justice in the early 20th century. Living through World War I in Europe and later the rise of U.S. banana companies in Central America, she saw how war, poverty, and plantation farming damaged both people and the land. Inspired by children, everyday plants like weeds, and new teaching methods, she developed a way of thinking that linked education, politics, and ecology. Through her stories, novels, and activism, Lyra created a revolutionary approach that combined care, resilience, and resistance—ideas that remain important for Costa Rica today.
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Why is it important?
This work is important today because it shows how education, ecology, and politics are deeply connected. Carmen Lyra’s example demonstrates that teaching and storytelling can be powerful tools for resisting exploitation and imagining more just futures. Her focus on weeds—plants often dismissed as worthless—offers a lesson in resilience and adaptability that resonates in an age of climate crisis, economic inequality, and corporate control of land and resources. By revisiting her ideas, we gain strategies for building communities grounded in care, creativity, and resistance, reminding us that revolutionary change can begin in classrooms, gardens, and everyday acts of solidarity.
Perspectives
Writing this article was a personal milestone for two reasons. First, because I grew up with Carmen Lyra's fairy tales, and they bring up dear childhood memories of primary school and of my grandmother, who would read them to me. Second, because I believe Lyra is an important historical figure whose legacy was lost or silenced for reasons of political censorship and sexism, and recovering her legacy was one of my goals.
Juan Manuel Avila Conejo
New York University
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Plant-Thinking and Critical Pedagogy in Costa Rica: The Revolutionary Praxis of Carmen Lyra, May 2025, De Gruyter,
DOI: 10.1163/9789004721777_006.
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