I try to focus my teaching on big ideas and long-term changes at the levels of society and culture, rather than focusing on dates and "great men." History should be interesting, and bogging down the conversation in minutiae defeats the purpose. What I want my students to gain is a greater understanding of how history is more of a process than a series of events. Thus equipped, they will be able to interpret historical events within broader contexts and thereby hopefully obtain a greater appreciation of the interconnectedness of the human experience.