Rhetoric is the ancient art of persuasion, which has been shaping our world for centuries. Leaders use it, commercial vendors use it, and normal everyday people use it. Rhetoric has been treated as a valued art, but the value is typically not seen today because rhetoric is no longer a requirement to be taught taught in schools. According to Jay Heinrich, in “outside academia we [have forgotten] it almost entirely” (Heinrich 5). Rhetoric should be taught in schools again because of its usefulness as a tool and because the rhetoric developed by ancient Greeks is still applicable today.
Rhetoric is a common theme throughout the world and is found in unpredictable places; from alarm clocks persuading one to wake up, …show more content…
The ancient Greeks were the ones to first recognize persuasive techniques and discover rhetoric. They saw rhetoric as a highly important skill because as philosophers they could more easily communicate their points. “The ancients considered rhetoric the essential skill of leadership - knowledge so important that they placed it at the center of higher education” (Heinrich 4). Rhetoric is an essential skill of leadership because a component of leadership requires persuasion. President Obama, for example, uses rhetoric to attempt to unite the American people by using the present tense in his speeches which is a common rhetorical tool used to bring a group of people together. When Obama says, “I say to you tonight; we have more work to do” he is attempting to bring the American people together by using present tense and the commonplace of hard work (Heinrichs 296). Through the effective use of rhetoric, President Obama is able to convey his leadership philosophy. Ancient Greek philosophers, intelligent people, saw rhetoric as a fundamental skill. As philosophers, they didn’t spontaneously discover rhetoric. They applied and developed the art over time to test the maximum effectiveness. Thus one can conclude that rhetoric is a valuable skill to teach students in school. A common misconception of rhetoric is that because of its age one cannot apply rhetoric to their lives today, however, the belief of that is not true. Rhetoric …show more content…
Although some people may think that rhetoric is useless and outdated, the fact that rhetoric is everywhere and still has relevant applications today are what renders these accusations illogical. A community without rhetoric cannot exist and rhetoric surrounds us, so schools should teach their students how to use rhetoric