Thankfully Plato's stance against teaching rhetoric did not prevail; or else we would all have to get double majors in philosophy and rhetoric. Now we've reached the point where writers are writing about the teaching of oratory, rhetoric, and writing. I do believe this is the first time (or it feels like the first time, perhaps in part due to Spring Break) we’ve seen advice to teachers of rhetoric. I’m interested in how we are taught to teach; most freshly-minted T.A.s don’t get a lot of direct instruction in this department. Sure, we may get a seminar on how to hold workshops or conferences, but even in the best of conditions, usually you have to figure it out on your own. most of what I know is things I’ve figured out on my own or tidbits and hints shared by my wonderful fellow grad students.
But the fact that Q leads with the issue of morality...instructors are always suspected of corrupting their students. In the Renaissance, when aristocratic young women were first taught the activities of society such as dance and music, tutors in these subjects were notoriously considered suspect in the morals department; on the other hand, they were still hired, thanks in part to books such as The Courtier that endorsed ladies learning the manners and polish that young gentlemen were also expected to have.
Homeschooling is the latest reaction against instructors and the schools where they work, a clear indication of the suspect nature of the role of education. Not only are parents who homeschool fearful of the violence they feel is a part of public schools, in many cases they fear that ‘liberal’ teachers will put unseemly, unChristian ideas into their children's’ heads.
Some of the tips Quntilian offers for teachers sound positively Elbownian, such as the suggestion to let younger students try new things, to be daring and delight in what that daring invents. I haven’t read a lot of Elbow so I’m wondering if this is where he got some of his ideas.
Notice that I didn’t make a single double entendre involving “Longinus” in this post.