We explain what are the pillars of education, its creator and what it means to learn to know, do, be and live with others.
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Pillars of education
The four pillars of education are the four foundations that support the educational act as one of the most important in society . They were established by Jacques Delors (1925-) in a report presented to Unesco . This French politician headed the European delegation in the second International Commission on Education, convened by Unesco for 1991.
Under the title “Education contains a treasure,” the so-called “Delors Report” was a synthesis of what was thought and said about education from former thinkers such as Confucius or Socrates, to other contemporaries such as Durkheim or Gramsci.
There, the existence of these four pillars of education was raised, that is, four objectives that education should meet. The pillars were defined as: “learn to know”, “learn to do”, “learn to be” and “learn to live with others” .
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Learn to know
This principle establishes that education should not be content with transmitting to the new generations the contents or knowledge developed by third parties, as if memorizing were sufficient, but should teach to learn.
This means teaching to build knowledge so that you can continue learning throughout life , you can acquire a critical posture regarding knowledge and you can orient the thought towards transcendent values . Said in simpler terms, it is about teaching to think .
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To learn to do
However, theoretical knowledge is not enough to make the life of humanity better and more productive, so it is also essential to implement them.
This refers to learning to do: teach the techniques , but also their ethical and practical sense , so that future generations can build their own and develop new practices. This pillar is related to work, to the commitment to the improvement of society and to the dignity of human beings in relation to their subsistence activities.
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Learn to be
Since in the education and the integral formation of the individual not only knowledge, but also values and perspectives are transmitted, education must also teach to be, that is, it must set the identity based on the desired values , in order to guarantee better generations and more committed to the virtues of culture.
In this way, the mere utilitarian sense of education must be transcended, to become individuals and individuals, endowed with a sense of belonging, justice , transcendence and truth .
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Learn to live with others
Finally, education must teach to live together, that is, it must face the difficulties that as a global society face humanity in the 21st century. We refer to violence , discrimination , inequality and injustice, problems that seem very difficult to solve, but still have to start thinking at an early age.
The social, moral and ethical formation of the new generations depends only on their education at the hands of the previous ones. That is why it is essential to educate in terms of harmony in the discovery of the other, and in a deep sense of community that allows for the resolution of differences or for having a civilized, responsible and above all ethical manner.
