reflection paper#16

Rhetoric is said to be one of the most ancient regulations in the human race. It is the effective use of language and the art of making persuasive speeches. Oratory, which was the art of public speaking, fell hand in hand with rhetoric. As mentioned in an earlier reflection paper, the Romans goal in education was indeed to gain the ability to become a spokes person. A rhetor was a teacher who taught students to make speeches on a given theme such as taking part of a source in action or just simply engaging in an economic debate or competition of some sort. Rhetoric along with grammar was the first to secure a position for a firm basis for further progress or development of the Romans. With this being so, culture was then identified with the art of using language with ease and aptness. In Roman they had what they called an Orator school in which a selected group of young men attended after they had completed both their primary and secondary schooling. The young men came from wealthy families and were ordained to become successful Politian and people of the jury. The Oratory school was very expensive but worth the expense because it taught the boys to speak well in public with cogency and confidence. In order to do this, the boys had to put up arguments at the right time and learn certain orations by heart so that they were able to recite portions of it in the future. I think rhetoric had a vast relationship with Roman education because it was basically what Roman children aimed to do. They wanted to be leaders and to be a leader one must be able to give out speeches to the public. A leader should be able to speak amongst all times of people from politicians, doctors, other speakers of great excellence and even amongst the mediocre civilians of the land. While the Roman students were being taught to make speeches on a given theme they advocated a course of action which was called declamatio. The rhetorical specialty of declamatio conquered the schools, fascinated the elderly people, and gave style to both oratory and literature. Rhetoric played a huge role in Roman education and their relations changed the lives of the students.