The 4 Pillars of Education

We explain what are the pillars of education, its creator and what it means to learn to know, do, be and live with others.

Pillars of education

The four pillars of the education They are the four foundations that support the educational act as one of the most important of the society. Were established by Jacques Delors (1925-) in a report submitted to the 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 fulfil. The pillars were defined as: “Learn to know”, “learn to do”, “learn to be” and “learn to live with others”.

Learn to know

This principle states that education should not be content with transmitting content or content to new generations. Knowledge developed by third parties, as if memorizing were enough but should teach to learn.

This means teach to build knowledge so that you can continue learning throughout life, you can acquire a posture review regarding knowledge and can guide the thought towards the values transcendent Said in simpler terms, it’s about teaching to think.

Learn to do

However, theoretical knowledge is not enough to do the lifetime of the humanity better and more productive, so it is also essential to put them into practice.

This is what learning to do means: teach the techniques, but also it’s meaning ethical and I practice, 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 the Humans in relation to their subsistence activities.

Learn to be

Since in the education and 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, of Justice, of transcendence and of truth.

Learn to live with others

Finally, education must teach to live together, that is, it must face the difficulties that as a global society are posed to humanity in the XXI century. We refer to the violence, the 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’s why it becomes indispensable educate according to harmony in the discovery of the other, and in a deep sense of community that allows resolving differences or for having a civilized, responsible and above all ethical manner.