It is not just public education that is to blame. Private education in the form of Christian schools and many curriculum providers - if not most providers- to homeschooled children also preach young earth theory, creationism, and that Noah's flood killed off all the dinosaurs.
I just don't get why people think our science HAS to agree with such an ancient book.
Why can't we have religious leaders more like the Dalai Lama who assert that if science proves the holy writings wrong, then the holy texts must be changed? That just makes too much sense for us, I suppose.

RE: How to Make Sure Children Are Scientifically Illiterate