Rhetoric In Education

Rhetoric as a Major Subject in Education

Argument, as Jay Heinrichs says, surrounds us. The study and practice of argument, rhetoric, once a major component of any well-rounded scholar’s education, has begun to be phased out of most curriculums today. To eliminate the studies of such a skill, a skill needed so often, is an ignorant move on the education board’s part. Rhetoric, the basis of almost all communication skills, should be reintroduced as a core credit in a student’s education.

If recognized, argument can be found in almost every interaction—people and animals or even inanimate objects utilize argument regularly. I can tell you before I had read Heinrichs’ book, Thank You for Arguing, I had never realized just how prevalent many

While my class was recounting their experiences with rhetoric in real life at the beginning of the semester, one classmate talked about the placement of audial adverts between songs on Spotify. He said the way the advertised services and merchandise had been presented had, instead of increasing his interest in the product, made him disinterested and even frustrated. Furthermore, in a survey on decision influences by consumers, television ads were said to have a high influence on purchase decisions 18% of the time, and a medium influence 47% of the time, whereas radio ads (such as Spotify’s) were only highly influential 5% of the time and moderately influential 32% of the time. (Erickson). Having a firm grasp on the benefits and disadvantages of different types of argument in different situations is a lucrative ability, and through rhetorical skill practice in schools, many students can be able to develop the skills for themselves.

Rhetorical analysis should be brought back as a staple in education because the class can teach people to become better-informed citizens, make better arguments at the right time, and can even improve grades in literature or analysis based