What you learned in school
Geography and geology textbooks taught that continents had always been in their current positions since Earth's formation. Students learned about permanent, fixed continental boundaries and static landmasses. When Wegener proposed continental drift, it was rejected as "impossible" because solid continents couldn't move through solid ocean floors.
What we know now
Geography and geology textbooks taught that continents had always been in their current positions. Maps showed static landmasses, and students learned about permanent continental boundaries. The idea that continents could move was considered ridiculous and unscientific. Alfred Wegener's theory of continental drift was initially rejected by most geologists. The discovery of seafloor spreading and plate tectonics in the 1960s proved that continents do move, floating on the Earth's mantle. This revolutionized earth science and explained earthquakes, volcanoes, and mountain formation.