Ian Dawson is Publications Director for the Schools History Project (SHP) and was Director of the Project in the 1980s. He reviews his early career teaching in Wakefield in the mid-1970s, followed by a move into teacher training in Leeds in the early 1980s. His priority on joining the SHP was to encourage more teachers to use their resources and promote innovative classroom strategies though training, a policy he calls 'pragmatic idealism'. He discusses critically the impact the Project has had on the teaching of history in English state schools up to the present day. He continues to contribute to the annual SHP conference and runs a website to promote history resources and teaching ideas. Interviewed by Nicola Sheldon.