People have been using writing to communicate and convey empathy for centuries. I have always valued the discussion of reading and literature. Here are 11 things I have learned from English classes:

1. People in books are lost, even if they don't know it. This is what creates plot. If characters are not in trouble, there is no story. This is a principle that applies to people in life as well.

2. Books do not exist outside of the historical and social time periods in which they were created. We can not exist outside of our time as well. To study literature is to study a culture in a period of time.

3. How to speak. How to interact and convey meaning.

4. Empathy.

5. How to read the news. How to question the news. The value of diverse sources.

6. The importance of film and movies. What are people trying to say? Even in movies that might not be considered art or worth seeing.

7. Who characters become. Why do they do the things they do? How characters are indeed people.

8. Maturity and sensitivity.

9. How to think critically. How to interact with creative ideas.

10. Diverse methods of tackling a text. How to bring others into a discussion. How to adapt to the ways others communicate and share the floor.

11. What it means to see things through another person's point of view. Arguably this is what reading is all about.