Page 32 - Education Supplement August 2025

By Nicola Killops

sk any teacher why they started teaching,
and the answer is usually the same:
A“I wanted to make a difference in
someone’s life.”

Most teachers never get to see where those ripples
land. Students grow up, move on, and teachers are
left hoping that something stuck – that a part of
what they shared took root somewhere. Sometimes,
if you’re lucky, life circles back and shows you.

I arrived at Broadacres Academy expecting a
standard interview about educational philosophy.
What I didn’t expect was to sit across from the
woman who first taught me to love words.

Colleen Traviss-Lea was my English teacher
thirty years ago. And there I was – 46 years old,
sitting opposite her, notebook in hand, asking
her about the very work she modelled for me
when I was a teenager.

Some faces stay with you. Some teachers leave a
mark that doesn’t fade. I recognised her instantly.

For her, imagine the moment: teaching for decades,
never really knowing where the lessons land. Then
one day, a former student walks in – not just to
say thank you, but to quietly prove that the work
mattered. A full circle, closing in real time.

We spoke about the real craft of teaching – not
content delivery, but the deeper work of helping
children make sense of the world. Of nurturing
courage, kindness, curiosity. Of creating the space for
a learner to grow into themselves. That has always
been her approach, and it remains so today.

The most remarkable thing wasn’t the reunion. It
was realising how consistent her philosophy has
remained across the years. The method evolves.
The technology changes. But the heart of it – the
belief in growing people, not products – stays
the same.

That’s the legacy of a great teacher. Not just lessons
remembered but lives quietly shaped.

Education | August 2025 | 30