Education

Education is a process by which knowledge and skills are passed down from one generation to the next. Knowledge and skills, which are the elements of education, can be passed down through informal or formal means. Two means of informal education are parents teaching their children basic skills and employers teaching new employees how to do their jobs. Individuals can teach themselves informally by reading and visiting museums. Formal education takes place in a school. In school students are taught basic subjects which include science, reading, history, geography, and math. These subjects increase in difficulty as the students go through the stages of formal education.

The stages of formal education in schools are primary education, secondary education, and higher education. The definitions of these stages are different all over the world. They can also vary within different parts of the same country but usually cover the same general age range. Primary education usually starts at about age five and ends between ages eleven and fifteen. Secondary education generally covers the middle to late teenage years. States and countries have requirements for what should be taught during the primary and secondary stages of education. Higher education refers to education that takes place after a student completes secondary education. Higher education is not required. It consists of studies at a college or university toward an undergraduate or graduate degree. Colleges and universities do not have the same requirements for all students. Students study different subjects depending on what their majors are. Individuals who do not choose to go to college can attend vocational schools where they study for certain professions.

The history of education is as long as the history of mankind. The earliest humans taught their children the basic skills they needed for survival. More than two thousand years ago there were schools in Rome, Egypt, and Greece in which students gathered in a central location and were taught by someone other than their parents. The knowledge and skills that are passed down from generation to generation have changed over the centuries but the ways in which they are passed down have not changed. Parents still teach their children skills and students still attend schools where they learn from teachers.