In my humanities class, my professor talked to us about the importance of doing the reading for homework. Because not many people were participating and conversing, he told us why we need to do the readings, actively think about them, and participate in the discussions.

The main goal is always to learn something while reading. Textbooks are packed with information for us to gain as we read. Novels can also help us learn how to be a better writer or give us strong messages and themes. We learn by reading, reading, and reading. Reading not only gives us information, but it provokes thought. We always have an opinion or thought about what we read. We gain knowledge, have thoughts, and even produce ideas from reading.

But if you want to get the most out of a book or a class, you need to discuss. After taking time to think about the readings and develop your own thoughts and ideas, you should talk about them. Talking with someone about the text will make it even more clearer.

The other people may have a different opinion or idea about what the text means or how to use the text, but this difference will only make you think more and gain more knowledge. If we all just simply read, then we will all have the same information and the same knowledge. But, if we converse about what we read and our different thoughts, we will all take in different ideas from on another.

For example, two people may have read the same book, but their past experiences and who they are as a person might affect their point of view. This would cause them to interpret the same text differently. By sharing their thoughts, they can both gain knowledge.