The International Commission for Education, one of the wings of UNESCO, endorses the concept of the four pillars of learning: learning to know, learning to do, learning to be and learning to live together.
Learning to know is nothing but being ready to learn from every little thing in your life. Information is available everywhere. From information, we derive knowledge, which brings wisdom. Developing a passion for reading brings knowledge to your doorstep. But what we read determines our knowledge and how we use it in society.
Interpreting knowledge in a creative manner is the need of the hour. We learn all our life — even a fetus can absorb what the mother reads and listens. Science has proven babies in the womb react to the mother’s voice. Learning something new everyday keeps the brain active.
The capacity to learn is something unique. You begin growing old only when you stop learning. You need to constantly update your knowledge and skill. It applies to both students and teachers. For instance, it’s not enough to just get a teacher’s degree and continue to teach. After about five years, what you’ve learned becomes outdated. Hence, it is imperative that teachers constantly
upgrade what they’ve learned.
Learning to do is the practical part of learning. What you study in school and colleges should help you sustain yourself. But in our country, there exists a distance between what we learn and what we do.
Education must enable everyone to solve their problems, make their own decisions and shoulder responsibilities. That is the concept of Learning to be. Education should ensure that everyone enjoys the freedom of thought, judgement, feeling and imagination to develop their talents and control their lives as much as they can.
Learning to live together is exactly what it means. There should be no
hatred among us. Our relationships with parents, siblings and older people in our family teach us values and concepts of living together. We learn about solidarity, helping each other, teamwork, taking care of elders and other important values from family relationships.
Elders should understand kids have opinions and ideas that they should listen to. Avoid fighting in front of your kids. Parents have to instil societal values in children. Cleanliness, teamwork, punctuality, being meticulous, sincerity and honesty are some of the values that kids learn from home.
— drmythily_t@apollohospitals.com