"Education Is Not Preparation For Life Education Is Life Itself." - John Dewey

Jeffren P.
Miguel BSED-English 4 December 2, 2013

Social Dimensions of Education EDUC 422 Dr. Maria Teresa
Isidor
The Four Pillars of Education & Lifelong Learning

“Education is not preparation for life; education is life itself.” – John Dewey
Education is one of the major institutions that constitute society. It aims to mold
the students to become law abiding citizens, and to be the best leaders of tomorrow who
will contribute to the economic growth of the country. According to Vega, Prieto, and
Carreon (2009), “each individual must be equipped to seize learning opportunities
throughout life, both to broaden knowledge, skills, and attitudes, and adapt to a
changing, complex and interdependent world” (p. 13). For this goal to be successfully
achieved, the UNESCO together with the International Commission for Education
advocates the four pillars of education.
The four pillars of education consist of the following: learning to know, learning to
do, learning to live together, and learning to be. These pillars of education, stated
GroepT (2013), “cannot be defined separately; they form an integrated whole,
complementing and strengthening each other. Education is, after all, a total experience.”
The first pillar is learning to know. This pillar basically means the acquisition of
the various instruments for understanding. Learning to know implies learning how to
learn by developing one’s concentration, memory skills, and ability to think. By
formulating this pillar, the International Commission on Education believes that it is not
necessary that the students learn all objective concepts and facts about a particular
topic. However, what matters is that a student must be able to master the content, and
be able to apply it in real-world situations. Furthermore, the teachers’ role is to help the
students develop their skills that would make them independent learners. Teachers do
not spoon feed all the information to the students. It suggests the end of the teacher-
centered classroom and the promotion of a student-centered environment where
learning the structured knowledge and concepts is not given importance. The main focus
is for the students to be able to master the subject matter and apply it in real-world
situations. By this we say goodbye to paper-pencil tests, and say hello to authentic
assessment. If you are the kind of teacher whose aims and goals are mentioned above,
you mold students to become independent learners, capable of finding solutions to real-
world problems.
The second pillar is learning to do. This pillar, according to Vega, Prieto, and
Carreon (2009), entails the acquisition of a “competence that enables people to deal with
a variety of situations, often unforeseeable, and to work in teams, a feature to which
educational methods do not at present pay enough attention” (p. 15). As remembered,
the first pillar, learning to know, equips the students with the necessary knowledge and
trains the students to master and comprehend everything that have been taught in
school. In the second pillar, it is expected that the students will be able to skillfully and
creatively apply the knowledge in reality. However, it is not just merely learning how to
apply knowledge, but also learning how to work together productively and harmoniously.
But of course, before one can learn to work with others, one must have peace and
organization deep within himself/herself. That is, understanding oneself first, before
understanding others. If he/she knows his/her potentials, he/she would most likely do it
swiftly and successfully. These things are essential in order for a student to become
lifelong learners, and be good and law-abiding citizens of this country.
The third pillar is learning to live together. This pillar is the “most vital to
building a genuine and lasting culture of peace.” It has been mentioned that in order to
do things skillfully and creatively, one must possess peace in the inner self, and in
return, he/she may work harmoniously with others. This statement is further
strengthened in the third pillar, wherein living harmoniously not just in our respective
societies, but even outside our cities, Asia, and in the whole world is being emphasized.
Nevertheless, this pillar is one of the issues in the field of education today. The existence
of violence, war, and terrorists makes it impossible to achieve harmonious living. In order
to successfully achieve this pillar, one must have the commitment to “peace, human
rights, democracy, and social justice in an ecology sustainable development” (p. 20).
Given all these, the teachers’ role is to serve as the “helping hand” by means of giving
classroom activities that provide the students with wider perspective in order for them to
understand other people better. Verga et.al (2009) also stated that “the teacher should
help students to realize the value of being able to live together in the gradually enlarging
world, from home, school, community, and the world” (p.19). If the students are able to
understand the feelings and beliefs of other people, the third pillar is targeted.
The fourth and last pillar is learning to be. This pillar refers to “the role of
education in developing all the dimensions of the complete person: the physical,
intellectual, emotional, and ethical integration of the individual into a complete man,
which is a broad definition of the fundamental aims of education” (Delors, 1996 as cited
by Verga, et.al, 2009, p. 21). Since it aims to educate the “individual,” the teachers aim is
teach the students how to solve problems, make the right decisions, and shoulder
responsibilities. Furthermore, this pillar also believes in educating the individual
holistically, not as a student inside the classroom but a future member of the bigger
society after graduation. Learning to be is the process of becoming – becoming the best
that a student can be – holistically developed in all aspects: physical, intellectual,
aesthetic, ethical, economic, socio-cultural, political and spiritual.
The four pillars of education are important in order to achieve mutual

understanding and peace in a particular society. Notice that each pillar is also connected
to each other. For one to be able to do a task, one must first learn to understand how
things work. Also, to be able to live together in peace and harmony, he/she must
understand and develop himself/herself first. The role of the teacher, then, is to make
students achieve all these pillars to make them become life-long learners. In this way,
the torch of education will be passed on from one generation with unity despite the
diversity.
References:
Vega, V., Prieto, N. & Carreon, M. (2009). Social dimensions of education. Boston
Street, Cubao, Quezon City, Manila: Loremar Publishing Inc.
Social dimensions of education. Retrieved from

www.slideshare.net/janettecbalagot/introduction-to-social-dimensions-of-
education-23997631
The four pillars of education. Retrieved from

http://www.groept.be/www/over_groep_t/group_t_-_leuven_universi/leuven-
education-college-1/becoming-a-teacher-at-gro/vision-on-teaching/four-pillars/

"Education Is Not Preparation For Life Education Is Life Itself." - John Dewey

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

"Education Is Not Preparation For Life Education Is Life Itself." - John Dewey

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

"Education Is Not Preparation For Life Education Is Life Itself." - John Dewey

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Jeffren P.

Miguel BSED-English 4 December 2, 2013

The Four Pillars of Education & Lifelong Learning

The four pillars of education are important in order to achieve mutual

Social dimensions of education. Retrieved from

The four pillars of education. Retrieved from

You might also like