A globe of her own: The history teacher who collects the world
BY DELARA BAKHTYARI
For the past 47 years, Mrs. Rita Rajen has been more than just a history teacher; she has been a storyteller, a guide through the past, and a collector of memories. Mrs. Rajen’s collection of snow globes was inspired by her love of travel. Early in her teaching career, she would bring back tiny globes from places she visited, each one showcasing the lands she teaches her students about. Over time, these souvenirs transformed into a full collection, now covering her classroom shelves. Each globe tells a story of a place she has been or a place she dreams of visiting. Mrs. Rajen says it’s like having pieces of the world right at your fingertips, even if you have never left the classroom.
Mrs. Rajen’s collection is especially special to her because her students have contributed to its greatness. When students travel, whether on family vacations or just a weekend getaway, some find a snow globe, and bring it back for Mrs. Rajen’s classroom. Mrs. Rajen always makes sure she talks about the place the new globe represents. She believes sharing these souvenirs helps her students feel more connected to each other and to the world outside the school walls. Her classroom has become a small museum of memoires, with each globe holding a secret story waiting to be shared.
Ms. Rita Rajen next to her snow globe collection. National Cathedral School.
Occasionally, Mrs. Rajen ties her snow globes to her lessons, which help her students understand the importance of that place. She shares “You can teach a lot of history with what is shown in the globe because the globe highlights the most prominent part of the place it comes from.” Sometimes, she uses the globes to start a lesson, asking students to guess where it came from or what happened there in the past. She says it’s a fun way to keep everyone engaged and curious. Her students love how the globes make history feel real, instead of just words on a page.
Mrs. Rajen’s snow globes continue to grow, showcasing the bond between her and her students, and to the idea that travel, whether through time or across the globe, makes learning come alive. Mrs. Rajen encourages her students who are interested in history outside of school to “Travel. Be interested in people, especially your elders, because they have history.” She believes that everyone has a story to tell and that is what makes history so exciting. Mrs. Rajen says that she wants her students to be explorers in their own way, even if it’s just asking their grandparents about the past. She believes that curiosity is the most important part of learning.
She believes that learning about the world should be immersive and tangible, not just confined to textbooks. Each snow globe becomes a window into a different era, culture, or way of life. Her students often find themselves captivated not just by the snow globes themselves, but by the stories that accompany them. Mrs. Rajen loves that, because it means they are thinking bigger and seeing beyond what they know. To her, that’s what teaching is all about, opening up new possibilities for her students.
On rainy afternoons, Mrs. Rajen has been known to let the class shake the globes and imagine the swirling snow as the unfolding of history itself. She says it’s like watching time stand still, even for just a moment. For her students, it’s a reminder that history is always around us, even in the smallest things.
The clinking of the glass and the gentle snowfall inside are reminders that the past is never far away. Over the years, some of her students have even started their own collections, inspired by the globes they admired in her classroom. Mrs. Rajen says it makes her proud to see her students finding their own ways to explore the world. She believes that if you keep looking for stories and keep asking questions, there is always more to discover.
For Mrs. Rajen, the snow globes are more than just decorative pieces, they are a promise to keep exploring and to keep learning. She hopes that each globe will inspire her students to see the world with curiosity and wonder, one snowflake at a time. In her classroom, history isn’t just taught, it’s felt, held, and treasured, one globe at a time. And that’s what makes Mrs. Rajen’s classroom such a special place to learn.
