Yes, I have a thing about "passion" being an aspect of what people do. Therefor, I am thrilled with Rosa Eberly's ability to be passionate about rhetoric without taking herself too seriously. Well, that and the fact that she is right.
She talks of rhetoric as being the means of being citizens together. What an odd thought, being citizens motivated to work together to achieve a common goal. Perhaps we talk about it a lot, but let's face it, we don't really believe in it. She states, "And given the growing sense that our democracy is composed of deliberating bodies that no longer know how to deliberate, of publics that can imagine themselves as nothing other than consumers, and of leaders who hold in contempt the idea that democracy requires information to be held in common. . ." (Eberly 5). The things we are reading make me think a great deal about teaching, and what that means. One minute I'm unsure of what should be taught (how political, or how controversial) and then I read this and I'm thinking I should teach simply to engage the students in a conversation about something real.
If students begin to understand the power of a well written or spoken piece, perhaps we could engage them further in the practice of writing.
Hmmmph.
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