With tears streaming down her face, Lorna Sanders welcomed the Benoni City Times into the office she has occupied since 2017 to proudly reflect on a teaching career that spanned more than four decades.

Sanders retired as the principal of Willowmoore High School at the end of the last year after dedicating her life to nurturing, guiding and inspiring generations of young Benonians since 1982.

She began teaching at Benoni High before joining Willowmoore in 1994, where she would leave an indelible mark on the classroom and the school community.

“I always had a passion for teaching. I was influenced by many of my own educators, mostly my maths teachers, because that’s the direction I wanted to take.

“I never thought I would do anything else. I was always going to teach maths. I did branch out, teaching life sciences and computer studies, among others, but maths has always been my passion,” she said.

Born in Cape Town, she attended primary school in Durban before moving to Boksburg High, where she completed matric. She obtained her teaching qualification from the University of Witwatersrand.

“From 1982, I taught maths and biology at Benoni High. I was appointed as the maths departmental head at Willowmoore in 1994. I became the deputy principal and, in 2017, principal.”

Sanders said the most fulfilling part of her 44-year career was ensuring every learner reached the best of their ability.

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“I’m proud of the results the learners who did their best and went on to become good citizens and human beings,” Sanders said.

The Crystal Park resident believes one of the reasons fewer learners are taking maths is developmental, adding that to succeed in the subject takes effort.

“Some children battle with numbers. I think part of it is developmental. Everybody develops at different stages. Some children do well in mathematics literacy, and that’s fine. Sometimes, at a later stage, they realise they can do pure maths.

“A lot of it is mental. For me, it came easily. I know many people for whom I doesn’t. But it comes down to how much time and effort you put in, as well as your interests.”

Driven by an unshakable belief in teacher development, Sanders, a recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2019 National Teaching Awards (NTA), championed growth at every level, choosing to work alongside passionate teachers who constantly upskilled themselves to better shape, inspire and serve their learners.

“You can’t run a school by yourself. You must have passionate people. You need people looking at different things. As they grow in their lifelong development in education, they are also transmitting that passion to the learners.

“The moment you do that, you have a full cycle, where learners believe they can also do it because their teacher achieved it. Learners want to be mentored by passionate teachers. That, for me, is helpful, because the learners would believe they can also do it,” said Sanders.

Asked if she’s proud of everything she’s achieved in her 44 years of teaching, she said, “I’ve got regrets at all”.

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