You're all for having "the depth and breadth of knowledge" but don't see why young people should know the basic origins of the Americas?

To be honest, without a sense of history - why even bother at all? Why be proud to be an American, then, if you have no idea what that truly means? I know Columbus didn't discover America, but his explorations were an important part of European exploration in the Western Hemisphere. How is that not worth knowing?