A trend has been building here at CHS, and it is picking up steam. History teacher Bill Schrier’s keychain globes are becoming more coveted every time he says his Schrierism: “Do not navigate by this; it is not to scale.”
The globe-giving started when Schrier was teaching his first year of AP World History. He remembered his teacher training classes at Cal State Monterey Bay where one of his professors would give out small trinkets as a reward to students.
“And here we were, a bunch of 20-, 30-, 40-year-olds…and we were like, ‘Oh my god, I got a little rubber ball!’” Schrier explains.
The inspiration for the globes, one-inch representations of the Earth on a chain, was thus born from that memory.
Senior Noah Liebmiller explains one reason the globes are so coveted to Schrier’s students.
“He gives them out when he’s impressed,” Liebmiller states. “I think that’s why everyone likes the globes. They don’t mean that you’re the smartest kid, they mean you’ve impressed Schrier, and that really feels like more of an accomplishment.”
Schrier doesn’t give out his globes easily. Impressing a guy who has been a chef, chemist, physics teacher, assistant U.S. attorney, truck driver and beloved AP World History and AP Government and Politics teacher—and even more—it is sufficient to say that the feat doesn’t come easily, and CHS students have taken on the task head-on.
When asked about the frequency of globe-giving, Schrier gives a smile and explains.
“It’s not uncommon,” the teacher explains. “It happens with a fair amount of frequency…. It shows me that someone is participating and engaged. There is no formula for it.”
As soon as the globe is passed from teacher to student, and the applause of the classroom sputters out, the next step is to put the globe in a public place. Prevalent locations include students’ backpacks, lanyards or key chains. It is common to see seniors with one, two or even three globes. But once the number of globes exceeds three or four then they start to take up too much space and are reserved for backpack pockets or bedroom dressers.
This year the globes, made by a different manufacturer, seem to be holding up with a much shorter lifespan than globes in years past. It is common to see seniors who are dedicated to the trend carrying around two, three or four broken halves of their hard-earned globes.
Senior Janie Brunson carries her globes on hand but does not display them on her backpack. Instead, she pockets them in a place where they are readily accessible for show.
Junior Chad Calnon received a couple of globes last year in AP World History and understands the prestigious honor globes bring.
“I can understand why the seniors insist on carrying around their globes even if they are broken,” Calnon says. “Getting a globe is a big deal, and I would let the world know I got one too, even if it was broken.”
The globes are not a competition, but they are not something easily ignored. For seniors, they are an absolute must before graduating and remain near the top, if not at the top, of the senior bucket list.
-EMMA FUZIE
