Wild Thing, You Make My Heart Sing

It was June, the beginning of my summer break from teaching, when I was perusing the clearance section of a local craft store and came across a $2 sign that caught my attention.

I wasn’t ready to think about the upcoming school year. My mind wanted a break from lesson plans and selecting songs for the holiday program, but my teacher’s planning mind is always just below the surface of my conscious thinking.

However, this sign spoke to me. My spiritual director’s brain turned on. It merged with my teacher brain, and I knew I had a theme for my classroom décor for the coming school year.

The spiritual director in me enjoys finding meaning in odd sayings and quotes. It likes to look deeper and pull out something to grasp and think about.

The sign said, “Wild thing, you make my heart sing.”

You may question my logic of finding depth in a quote from a song written in the 1960s. The “garage-rock” song, first recorded by the English rock band The Troggs, features a blend of influences from the Beatles and the Rolling Stones, focusing on themes of desire and love.

Desire and romantic love were not part of my thought pattern when I saw this sign. Instead, I was picturing my classroom filled with wiggly, loud, crazy children who challenge and inspire me. That is where I was headed with this theme idea.

You see, my students challenge me. They challenge me to be creative and patient. They also inspire me. They inspire me to find ways to hold their attention and help them find joy in making music.

They are also wild. They struggle to sit still, to be quiet when I’m talking, and to sometimes get along with each other. But when they sing with their sweet, beautiful, young voices, that is when my heart sings.

For thirty years, my vocation was as a minister in the local church. During those years, I said that I would never teach school. I have learned never to say never.

Starting a new career as a music teacher, I felt a sense of grief about leaving church ministry. It has taken me a while, but now I realize that I never left ministry; only that the venue has changed.

Children are children, whether they are wearing their Sunday best or their school uniform. Children need nurturing and to feel loved, no matter their family’s faith practice. Children are "wild things" in school, at home, and at church. They are wild with energy to play and express themselves. They are wild with eagerness to learn and experience new things. They are wild with the desire to be loved and accepted for who God created them to be.

When I have the privilege of standing in front of all 300+ of them and leading them in singing a song like “We’re All In This Together,” it feels like a holy moment. That’s what makes my heart sing.

So, this year, my classroom is decorated with funny, silly monsters representing the wild things. These playful creatures will remind me to have fun with my students, to accept the messiness and craziness that goes along with living among the wild things. On the good days, my heart will sing, and on the not-so-good days, I will be reminded that wild things need my nurture, patience, and love to grow.