Interesting fact: Rhetoric was actually taught to young people as recently as the seventeenth century in some places. It also had less to do with constructing logical arguments, which was considered a separate field, and more to do with flashy linguistics :) I do agree that it would be a good idea to bring it back into the curriculum, though.

This is a good website for learning more about rhetoric. It has a HUGE glossary that you could easily get lost in :)