Chewing Gum In Schools

In the near future all schools should allow kids to chew gum during class. Why should kids be allowed to chew gum? They should be allowed to chew gum because when your mouth is busy chewing gum you are less inclined to talk, gum is a 5 to 10 calorie snack that can be substituted for a hundred calorie snack, and gum helps blood flow through the brain which helps you concentrate more that the average 17 seconds in one minute that most students are capable of concentrating.
Some teachers say that even if students do have gum in their mouths they will still talk because they will not be chewing it vigorously since they don’t want to get caught. However, if gum were allowed in the classroom students would be busy chewing gum and be less inclined to talk because they wouldn’t try to hide the gum. During some of my classes in which my teacher doesn’t mind us chewing gum, the students who are typically noisy but have gum in their mouths don’t talk as much as they do without gum. I have witnessed students who get caught and are forced to stop chewing. This usually puts an immediately end to their quiet day.
Gum is a good way to eliminate hunger. Wrigley Science Institute states at just five to ten calories a serving, chewing a piece of gum instead of eating a high-calorie snack can help reduce calorie intake. Chewing gum may also serve as a diversion between meals and help prevent the "mindless munching" that can lead to weight gain. A survey taken by Wrigley revealed that 87 percent of surveyed dietitians chew gum themselves and more than half recommend chewing gum to their clients to help in weight management efforts. This could be a step to helping eliminating childhood obesity.
Gum helps concentration. A 75-person study at the University of Northumbria, in the United Kingdom, showed that chewing gum appeared to improve people’s ability to learn, retain and retrieve information. Lucy Wilkinson and her colleagues found that chewing gum while performing memory tests enhanced measures of working and long-term memory. The results showed that gum chewers’ scores were 24 percent higher than the control group on tests involving immediate word recall and 36 percent higher than controls on tests involving delayed word recall. Gum can help students during class by helping them concentrate. They will also be able to listen to the teacher more than 17 seconds per minute so they can obtain more information than students who are not chewing gum.
Students should be chewing gum in class. The many benefits to chewing gum include improved concentration in the classroom, gum represents a healthy alternative to high-calorie snacks, and gum preoccupies the mouth so students will be less tempted to talk in the classroom. Now it is our chance for our generation to get involved. We can benefit greatly. Let us all let the district administration know immediately how we feel and why gum should be allowed in the classroom.