Educators have opportunities to make an impact on the ways in which students will experience the world for years to come. Education is much more than discipline-based knowledge. It is preparation for the rest of life and the expansion of awareness. University classrooms can provide opportunities to acknowledge and appreciate different perspectives and experiences. What are some of the ways educators can teach students to respect and value others? How do professors model empathy and help to develop a nurturing classroom? How can each of us teach and model empathy and respect to help ease some of the tensions in today's chaotic world? Using the lens of semiotic analysis (the study of signs and meaning), this essay addresses the variety of signals through which the values of caring and compassion are communicated, expressed, and understood. As students become more aware of the importance and impact of empathic words, signals, gestures, and behavior, positive styles of interaction can evoke closer connections, greater rapport, and build better collaboration both in and outside of the classroom. These learning experiences that occur in classrooms become invaluable in careers, in relationships, and throughout students' lives. This essay also discusses using film, poetry, and song lyrics to explore empathy and the understanding of characters as archetypes and aspects of self.