Caliban and Prospero “You taught me language; and my profit on't / Is, I know how to curse,” says Shakespeare’s Caliban to Prospero, the man who taught him the gentleman’s language. Caliban was no gentleman, however. He was an evil spirit whom Prospero tried to civilise. After all, civilising the savage is the white man’s god-given burden. Caliban cursed Prospero because that was his way of asserting his power. He had been enslaved by Prospero, and words are the only source of power left when one is enslaved. Words are powerful. They can make or break people. A recent study by psychologist Timothy Jay shows that children learn a lot of “bad” words even before they begin schooling. They pick it up from their parents and other adults at home or around. As a teacher in a residential school, I have observed how children pick up foul language much more quickly than the more desirable alternative. ...
Cerebrate and Celebrate