Indifference killed the orchid

By Lee Eung-tae

This morning I was appalled to see a couple of dead orchids withered in their pots.

Once adored for their green leaves and elegant lines, those orchids became eyesores with stiff sunburnt leaves. Three others were on the brink of dying for lack of water.

It is said that even the laziest man can grow a plant that doesn’t need much watering; once every two weeks in winter and once a week in summer will be enough. But, at times, this simple caring is easily neglected when it is involved in everyone’s business.

Simple office chores such as preparing hot water for morning coffee and watering flowers by the widow are all the occupants’ duty. So, when those orchids were first brought in, all the teachers enjoyed the colorful blossoms and some, including me, voluntarily watered them.

However, interest in them subsided, in front of seemingly more important jobs. Left unattended, those flowers became part of the inanimate furniture.

In the meantime, those orchids deteriorated. Mindlessly, we neglected them by the window so that those fragile flowers were painfully exposed to hot sunlight. Under the indifference of all of us, those plants had to suffer a month without water.

With a little pang of conscience, I happened to be reminded of a public campaign advertised by local media showing some graphic scenes of abused students in school which said: "We have no school violence other than Indifference.” And my logical mind immediately played the game of "what if?”

What if those dying orchids were people we are familiar with on a daily basis? ― our spouses maybe, or our children, or our colleagues sitting next to us? More pertinently, what if they were my students? How constantly do I care for them with "the loving water" by calling their names, giving encouraging words and hearty advice?

Under the pretext of enhancing their academic capacity, how many times have I ignored their thirst for affection?

Have I not justified my indifference to mediocre students under the excuse of collective teaching? Young teenagers are no less susceptible to negative environments than feeble orchids are. They are sensitive to any words bad or good, encouraging or discouraging. Without a solid sense of identity, they are roaming incessantly in their own mentally fragile world.

Compared to March this year, those once starlit eyes of most of my third graders are losing their vitality. Even though most of the blame is due to the heavy burden of the college entrance exam, other unbearable pains such as peer pressure and domestic violence may wither my kids every day. For some students, the burdens may be too heavy and hard to cope with.

But, whatever problems drive our kids to the verge of withering to death, I think, it is up to us teachers to revitalize and reenergize them to grow up to be good, healthy human beings.

According to several reports, more and more high school students are dropping out of school every year. Moreover, teenage delinquencies and school violence continue unabated. I think if our current inhumane educational system continues, focusing on college entrance exams and forcing teachers to stick only to enhancing knowledge, it will be hard to break the vicious cycle.

However, I sincerely believe we teachers shouldn’t just be silent bystanders watching our innocent kids withering to death day by day. As one of these teachers, I have to confess that most teenage delinquencies are the byproduct of our casual indifference.

Ignoring their desperate need for care, didn’t we drive them mercilessly into a corner, so that they were not able to avoid dropping out of school? Instead of giving the love of life-giving water, haven’t we exposed those feeble kids to intolerable shame and indifference?

Before it is too late, we need to come close to them and show our love by saying "hello” to every needy student.

The writer is an English teacher in Gimhae Girls' High School in South Gyeongsang Province. His email address is eungtae@gmail.com.