It is also amazing to me how much history is not taught in high schools. As a kid, you were taught that the English settled the New World and discovered America. You weren't taught about the native cultures that built canals, apartment like structures and had extensive trade with other peoples.
I just read "Lies Across America" for another class, and James Loewen often mentions the lack of historical markers for Native American cultures, and how the ones which are up, aren't always correct. There is a marker for Jeffrey Amherst in New England, and how he settled the New Hampshire area, but it doesn't tell how he almost killed out a native culture by bringing small pox to the tribes.
After taking classes in college, you being to realize a lot of what you were taught in high school is only partially correct. There are two sides to every story, but we are only taught the one which makes our ancestors and our country look good, a patriotic history.