Have had this conversation elsewhere, comparing notes with other Americans and with Europeans and Australians, and discovered that American schools teach history very badly and Ameri-centrically, with the same ground being covered over and over again and time running out on the school year early in the 20th Century. Astonishing to hear that Europeans were actually covering different periods in different years of school and getting a much broader overview. (Also maddening that when I tried to branch out of the 1492-to-WWII American history track and take a medieval history course in college, it wasn't counted towards my history requirement for my degree.)