Four Pillars of Education

After the World War II, people thought that never ever would there be a war again. People did not want strife in any form. But given the nature of human beings, sooner or later they found themselves on the killing fields far from their homes engaging in meaningless warfare supported by the arms and ammunition industry. What was worse was even families began to get dysfunctional over time. Live and let live, as a tenet to live life from, was abandoned.

The education commission of UNESCO realized that it was not enough to prepare people for life with knowledge and skills but also train people to live and work in a society in peace and harmony. To achieve this, a holistic approach to learning was required. People needed to be taught to live together, to be inclusive and even celebrate the diversity.

UNESCO in their wisdom advocated the 4 pillars of education for the 21st century so that the generations to come can have what we might call real education for a harmonious and peaceful co-existence on the planet.

The Four pillars of Education are

  • Learning to know
  • Learning to do
  • Learning to live together
  • Learning to be 

Learning to know is amassing knowledge from having simple information needed to survive in society including language skills, literacy, numeracy, logical thinking and critical thinking to a highly scientific understanding of the world.

Learning to do involves developing and acquiring all kinds of vocational, technical, creative or management skills to do all kinds of jobs in the workforce of human life enabling people to make a living and contribute productively to society.

Learning to live together is a dire need today when families, communities and countries find themselves at loggerheads and in conflict. Social skills, emotional intelligence, agreeing to disagree are critical to function in a multipolar society to co-exist with each other in peace and harmony.

Learning to be is about the holistic development of an individual in body, mind and spirit/soul so that a person experiences a wholeness and completeness within himself/herself which reflects in his /her dealing and interactions with people. It includes being equanimous with a fine balance no matter what the provocations might be, in essence the kind of behavior that allows for respecting another and at home with self- reflection and self-discovery.  

Cinema and life are closely connected and impact each other at a very profound level. Therefore our approach to film education is holistic and would impart a deeper level of understanding the language of Cinema and its myriad expressions.