Education

Education is the act or process of acquiring or imparting knowledge or skills, especially at a school. It can also refer to the knowledge or skills acquired by this process, as in "level of education," or to a particular kind of instruction or training, such as "physical education." "To educate" is synonymous with "to teach."

Education is the cure for ignorance. Members of an educated society are less likely to believe in myths, woo, and pseudoscience.

Science
More than merely relating facts about science, good science education teaches students the proper way to "do" science and additionally promotes scientific literacy. Scientific literacy and critical thinking skills are essential for living and competing in a technological world. Organizations such as the National Center for Science Education and the British Centre for Science Education provide resources to help teachers of science improve their instruction.

Christian fundamentalists, in an effort to advance their form of religion, have historically attempted to get their own version of "origins theory" into science classes under the guises of creation science and intelligent design. Although these worldviews sound like science they are not, and pressuring teachers into presenting them as such is not conducive to students' understanding of science. Numerous position statements from science organizations as well as court decisions confirm this conclusion.

Sex
Sex education usually refers to the teaching of children about human sexuality at school. This can take the form of abstinence programs, or it can actually be helpful.

Family
Education for young children begins at home, primarily from their parents. This is an important place to learn language and morality. Although parents continue to provide some aspects of their education, most children in industrialized nations subsequently enter a form of mass education outside of the home.

Public schools
Similar to state schools or government schools in other places, United States public schools are compulsory and free to consumers, being funded and directed at the federal, state, and local levels. Local school boards have some latitude regarding curriculum, and they, along with state boards and legislatures, are common places for fundamentalists to present their anti-evolution case.

Public school teachers, also known as educators, are state-credentialed professionals.

Please note that in some parts of the world public school means private school.

Homeschools
An alternative to public education or private schools, homeschooling offers parents a sizable degree of control over what their children learn. Educating is done by tutors or by the parents themselves. An Internet search revealed numerous websites offering resources for parents considering this approach to education.

Higher education
Higher education refers to study after the high school (secondary) level. The term is usually identified with colleges, universities, institutes of technology, professional schools, and graduate schools but can include vocational schools, teacher-training schools, community colleges, academies, and seminaries. Generally a degree, diploma, or certificate is awarded at the end of a course of study.

Colleges and universities may be state-controlled or private. The latter are often run by religious groups, and there are many fine Christian fundamentalist colleges in the United States including Liberty University and Bob Jones University. Professors at accredited colleges and universities are expected to have attained a doctorate degree or at least a master's.

A diploma mill is a college at which one can obtain an unrecognized degree with little effort for the purposes of flaunting it. Patriot Bible University and Universal Life Church are examples of such institutions.

Self
Self education, or autodidacticism, provides a nearly limitless source of knowledge after one's official schooling has ceased. In order to self educate one must learn how to learn rather than how to merely be taught. It is possible to find material for self education on television, in libraries, and on the Internet.