I teach English at Round Lake High School. Why English? Well, because "One day we will find the right words and they will be simple" (Jack Kerouac). Because "Fiction is the truth inside of the lie" (Stephen King). Writing matters as "A word after a word after a word is power" (Margaret Atwood). And reading matters because "Sometimes, you read a book and it fills you with this weird evangelical zeal, and you become convinced that the shattered world will never be put back together unless and until all living humans read the book" (John Green). Other areas of expertise build the world we live in, but English - whether it is reading, writing, or speaking - gives the world we live in empathy, understanding, and a soul. So, that is why English.