Readers Share Stories of Teachers Who Made a Difference

A few weeks ago, I shared a story with newsletter subscribers about the high school math teacher who changed my life. Mrs. McReynolds believed in me when I momentarily stopped believing in myself. She encouraged me to keep studying advanced math after poor performance on a test left me devastated and discouraged about moving forward with a subject I loved.

I also posted the story to LinkedIn, and was deeply touched to discover that many other people have had similar experiences with teachers whose wisdom stayed with them long after high school. Wall Street Journal columnist Jason Zweig said, “For me, it’s (unsurprisingly) my high-school English teacher, Josh Horwitt, who nurtured my love of writing and will always be one of my heroes.”

A reader named Harish Krishnamurthy observed, “I’ve been fortunate to have a few Mrs. McReynoldses in my life. When I’ve reached out years later to thank them, they’ve often said they were simply doing their job, never realizing how profoundly they had influenced my life. A powerful reminder that even a small gesture of encouragement can have a lasting impact.” I agree.

And one of my longtime colleagues at Dimensional, Ashley Ilardo, wrote that her high school homeroom teacher, Jess deCourcy Hinds, taught her students to spend the first 15 minutes of each day journaling to capture “the things we wanted to leave at the door. It was an opportunity to take a collective exhale and refocus our energy on our education.”

Ashley and her friends even worked all summer with their teacher to create a school library from scratch. “When someone creates a supportive space,” she continued, “You want to spend time with them there. My friends and I met up in the library all summer to help get the facilities ready. I’ll always look back at that time fondly and remember the principles that Jess instilled!”

Here’s the amazing thing about Ashley’s story: Her teacher saw her post and commented back! After thanking Ashley, Ms. deCourcy Hinds wrote, “I’m so proud of everything you’ve achieved and especially how happy and confident you seem. Thank you so much for this post.”

Everybody can use a Mrs. McReynolds in their life—and many of us are lucky enough to get one. I’m grateful to all of the readers who shared their inspiring stories.

Stay calm, stay invested, and let markets work for you.

David