Pillars of Education Essay

1. Learning to Know â€Å"Learning to Know† is one of the four pillars of education. Pillar of education actually means â€Å"the one that supports education†. The first one that supports education is â€Å"learning to know†, which is a bit natural to answer the question â€Å"Why do we need to learn? †, so the most possible answer would be â€Å"to be able for us to know things†. While this is true, before understanding from what we learn, we have to develop first the skills that are needed to understand these things. So the first pillar focuses on the well-known side of education which is the developing of intellectual skills in particular. These skills include the concentration, memory and the ability of a person to think. Children should have these skills because it will be their starting point or their foundation to learn more complex issues that our world is facing today. Learning is a lifelong process, so the more we learn things, the more we will understand the world around us. 2. Learning to Do The second pillar of education is the â€Å"learning to do†. This implies that we are not only learning to know (to develop intellectual skills), but we are also learning to do things out of the skills that we have developed. We do not isolate these skills on ourselves but we try to be more effective and productive by applying the se skills to develop personal competence, qualities, aptitudes and attitudes. Knowledge and skills will be put into waste if we do not utilize or apply it into real-life situations. The second pillar focuses on the effectiveness and productiveness of a person by developing and applying the skills/knowledge not only to manage one’s life but also to have the ability to be cooperative to the other members of the society and also, for the society itself. This pillar of education teaches us to adapt to the society’s demands. So the more skills we have developed, the more opportunities are accessible/ available for us to apply these skills whether in work or in life. 3. Learning to Be This pillar supports education in developing the total development of an individual. When we say total development, it does not only include the intellectual aspect but also its physical, emotional, social, moral and spiritual which an individual is made up of. It focuses on the individual himself and his personality; what are his attitudes, how does he behave, his beliefs, his interests and so on. So we do not only learn to know or develop skills nor utilize these skill/knowledge but we also learn to be a better individual not just for our family but for the society as well. Children should be taught the traits and values that we want them to develop like being responsible, honest, respectful and other traits that are considered good to develop their personality because knowing oneself first is the key to know others. 4. Learning to Live Together â€Å"Learning to live together is the last pillar of education and is considered as the most essential one. It is not only about knowledge, the application of skills or about the personality but it is the help of these three pillars that we would be able to live harmoniously. This pillar does not only refer to mere interaction and communication made by the members of the society because even if we have this communication, there are still inevitable conflicts that could occur. Knowledge here refers to have information about each other’s history and culture. We have to know and respect their beliefs, traditions and values which in turn they will respect ours. In this way, it can create a strong bond to understand each other’s differences. â€Å"Learning to Live Together refers on how to prevent conflicts in the society. We are also taught to live together with people who have different personality, different beliefs, and traditions and culture because we are not the only person in this world; we have to participate and cooperate to have peace and a just society.