On March 7, 2017, a yearbook editor at my school wanted a quote from me for the English page. I supplied this:

It used to be that the study of English was confined to reading, writing, speaking, listening, and conventions. But today, with so many so dynamic ways for so many people to transmit so many ideas into the minds of so many others, how we use and understand language becomes increasingly vital to our civilization’s health every day. From social media to journalism to commerce to governance, nothing is more critical than how we use verbal and written and visual language to exchange ideas with one another and to help ourselves better understand those ideas. Never has it been more challenging nor more thrilling nor more satisfying to be at the heart of the curriculum that’s called English.

Still seems accurate.