From a very young age, Castlemaine's Lynne Kelly had an undeniable love for education.
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Specifically, the mathematics and science fields.
But it was her passion for encouraging her students to ask weird and wonderful questions, among others, that lead to her being named a Member in the General Division of the Order of Australia on January 26.
Lynne said her love began with an innocent con from her father.
"When I was very little, if I was very good my father would reward me with math," she said, laughing.
"It took me ages to discover I'd been conned, but for me math classes were the fun bit and I was relieved to be in them.
"And that never stopped. When I hit physics, it was just math with wings on it."
So, Lynne followed her interests and continued down the STEM pathway.
She was actually one of the few female engineering graduates to go through Monash University at the time.
"I went into sciences to major in physics, but was told girls couldn't do engineering because it was too hard for them," she said.
"So I went across and did engineering, nearly proved them right."
"But I didn't want to be an engineer, my love was teaching and school so I became a physics teacher."
With her engineering degree pocketed and her bags packed, the newly minted teacher found herself off to regional Victoria ready to spread her wings and educate.
And very quickly, city-born Lynne realised she'd found where she belonged - the country.
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"I'm originally from Melbourne, but wanted to move to the country because I love it so much," she said.
"Regional cities and towns are so much better than the city. I went to Ballarat and then up to Castlemaine."
Throughout her years of teaching, the educator realised students had a hunger to learn more than was set out in the yearly planner.
Inspired by the "amazing questions (far) beyond the curriculum," her students would ask, Lynne didn't want to disappoint.
And so, once again, Lynne found herself desk-side of the classroom studying none other than a masters in gifted education.
"I mainly focused on enrichment," she said, "my belief is anyone who wants to know more than we're teaching is gifted, and that's an awful lot of them."
"One year, in my physics class in Ballarat, one of my students asked me what happens when you photo copy a mirror.
"Next thing I knew half the class is off to the library with mirrors and it lead to all sorts of wonderful physics - conversations and more questions - as they analysed.
"They thought it would come out bright with the reflection, but in actual fact the images came out dark with little finger prints."
I soon learnt those weird questions kids ask are the best science questions of all
- Lynne Kelly
This educational curiosity often found in her classrooms is also the same curiosity that lead Lynne to pen her works such as Challenging Minds: Thinking Skills and Enrichment Activities, Grounded: Indigenous knowing in a concrete reality and more throughout her career.
"I've loved working with students," Lynne said, "it's their enthusiasm in class for science and math that got me into writing."
"My first 10 books were for education and a novel that came out of the kids questions."
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At other times in her career, Lynne has taken on roles from an honorary research associate at La Trobe University, to the founding principal at the Virtual School for the Gifted and everything in between.
Naturally, the educator was "shocked and delighted" when she was told she would be honoured on Australia Day.
"I thought these awards really were just for famous people," she said.
"And to have education recognised is so important and I just felt wonderful.
"All this work for all these years being obsessed by teaching and have it formally acknowledged by the country is just overwhelmingly amazing."
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