Jensen goes on to say, ‘Keep that concept in mind: that the brain is best at learning what it needs to survive — socially, economically, emotionally, and physically. From your typical student brain’s point of view, remember that “academic success” is often quite low on its list of to do’s (Philip, 2007, p. 10)!

“Why do you want to learn Spanish?” I asked the level 1 Spanish class during my first week student teaching (while the teacher assigned phone cubby numbers). Among the popular responses it’s a requirement to get into college or I already know French, the silent response of the girl a “heritage” speaker in the front stood out. I expected to hear an answer from her instead she looked at her hands. As the class proceeded into it’s new group discussion routine, she shyly admitted, “My parents speak Spanish, I don’t.” “So you want to learn Spanish to talk to them,” I mistakenly deducted. “Kinda. I want to know what secrets they keep from me. I know they argue about money and bills, but I don’t understand any of it. It’ll be cool to also be able to laugh at the Spanish jokes my friends make on our stoop.”

Jensen definitely hits a sweet spot with that last remark. Even though my student wanted to learn Spanish, she was not focused on it’s academic requirement, or success for that matter. She needed to gain the capability to survive in her immediate environment. Her brain definitely at its “best” when we discussed material that was pertinent to its survival agenda. She was preoccupied with how to say bills in Spanish or respond to a piropo (cat-call) in Spanish. She was engaged during the numbers lesson. A week later, she excitedly shared how she understood how much her parents paid for her cell phone bill when it was brought up in a tension-filled conversation during dinner. The same engagement was absent during the time and calendar lesson.

In addition, the Philip (2007) article serves to remind teachers that some students will disengage in our classrooms, but we can decrease the incidents. Even though we will not be able to know what material falls under the “survival” list of our students, it is important to observe the small, low engagement markers that can help us distinguish the interests of some of our students. The article also projects the importance of accessible academic and socio-emotional support in and out of school for an at-risk student whose brain is on red-alert,  survival mode.