I enjoyed reading Quintilian, since, as Morgan and Karen pointed out, he seems to be a rhetor whose teachings on teaching are closest to our current teachings. And although we may quibble about the importance of the rhetor being morally fit, it is not far from the expectations we have of teachers now. In South Carolina, for example, my sister was not allowed to be seen in town consuming alcohol...to ensure she was a good moral guide to her students.
Some random thoughts:
--I was struck by Q's discussion of boys and their bodies. He sort of says, "Yeah, the kids might be ADD, but better to be ADD then boring." Or, in Q's terms, "The remedy for exuberance is easy, but barrenness is uncurable by any labor" (II.4.7). He seems quite concerned that the mind not be "prematurely restrained by judgment," which prompts me to think of how young boys are dealt with in elementary school. My brother, for example, was on ADD medication by the time he was 10--a clear attempt to restrain the mind (and the body). He illustrates this point with a discussion of the body, which because of our gender/rhet/body class caused my ears to perk up.
--We see the body again in the next paragraph, as a metaphor (or is it?) for that which the "dry" master desires. "To [the dry masters], leanness is in place of health and weakness instead of judgment; and, while they think it sufficient to be free from fault, they fall into the fault of being free from all merit" (II.4.9). In some ways, these illustraions might be seen as connecting the body--they parallel rather than oppose each other. Or, I can see them as privileging the mind over the body--ultimately using the body to make a point about the mind...