In every elementary class room I spent time in growing up there was always a globe. I remember them as being pretty large. Some were on floor stands that came to up to our chests, others were table top versions. Regardless of size, they were typically tucked in the corner of the room, never holding a place of prominence, yet always present. Strangely, I never once remember a teacher using one of these globes to teach. We used maps here and there — the world map that she would pull down over the chalkboard or the United States map in our text book, but never did she refer to the…