The fruits of deliberate ignorance
Despite the fact that creationism and its dark twin intelligent design are nothing more than religious dogma tarted up to look like science, a disturbingly high number of science teachers in US schools insist on presenting that propaganda to their students as a scientifically valid theory. A Penn State researcher has conducted a study of US science teachers, and the picture is dim:
[A] quarter of the teachers also reported spending at least some time teaching about creationism or intelligent design. Of these, 48% – about 12.5% of the total survey – said they taught it as a "valid, scientific alternative to Darwinian explanations for the origin of species".
One fourth of US high school science teachers don't know the difference between science class and Sunday school. It's no wonder the US is falling behind in science, mathematics, and engineering -- we're graduating legions of flat-Earthers who think prehistoric, pre-literate fables told around the campfire accurately explain the workings of nature.