Visitors to Lebanon tend to wonder why the country is in a chronic and growing mess despite the high level of education in the country – and the large proportion of people with advanced degrees. Is it just “corruption” that is causing the retardation, or is it something deeper? Let us try to define a proper education.
The UNESCO International Commission on Education for the 21st century has identified four pillars of learning:
1. Learning to know (acquiring relevant knowledge)
2. Learning to do (preparing to contribute to economic development)
3. Learning to be (developing personality/ individual self-reliance)
4. Learning to live together (promoting social harmony)
Education in Lebanon has traditionally been very strong on knowledge - perhaps too strong in the sense of emphasizing memorization and cramming rather than true comprehension, analytical and critical thinking. Could it be that practical knowledge, personality development, and a sense of community have not been accorded enough attention, compared with theoretical knowledge? Possibly, at least in the distant past – and such matters take time to change. Even though there may be greater awareness now of the importance of self-reliance, we still see passiveness, attitudes of dependency, and a waiting for Godot tendency rather than concerted efforts for change. The generations that lacked the important skills are still in power, steering a heavy ship in the middle of a stormy, polluted sea.
With the Covid-19 pandemic impacting education, UNESCO has recently recognised the importance of resilience as a component of learning, resilience being the ability to succeed despite serious threats. Therefore, resilience may be added to the four pillars of learning soon, as mentioned by two bloggers at UNESCO’s International Portal for Educational Planning (“21st Century Skills in the Time of Covid”). The Lebanese will certainly need resilience to weather the current storm.
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