Value in Fiction

I think, as an English major, that there is a great value to learning from fiction.  Fiction is a mirror of life, even though it is not a biography or completely true.  There are many aspects of fiction which a student can relate to and that can be used as a teaching tool.  Students learn from Shakespeare all the time.  They can relate to Romeo and Juliet, the learn story lines from the historical plays.  Learning fiction is important, not for the information within the piece of fiction, but for the information and lessons that a person can get out of the fiction.  Being an English major, my opinion of fiction may be slightly biased, but you can not easily find a class that does not involve some type of fiction.