Becoming A Historian

Abstract

My interest in history of education did not emerge until I was well into adulthood. Yet it was singularly shaped by a broad range of educational experiences, in my family and the schools and colleges I attended, and as a teacher, working with infants through high schoolers and then as a teaching assistant with graduate students prior to receiving the interdisciplinary Ph.D. in history and education. I knew little about academic life, though, and did not have the kind of competitive ambition I had seen among some of my fellow students in graduate school. For that reason, sponsored mobility by mentors and colleagues became a critical means of better understanding the profession and the field. By sponsored mobility, I mean casual mentoring and networks among peers that grew into strong friendships.