Most schools don’t allow students to chew gum during class because it can distract others from their studies or it damages school property when they stick it under a desk after they’re done. From my experience, each time I chewed gum in class the teacher would get annoyed. I learned that teachers don’t want gum to be chewed because they hate it when students smack their gum or they fear that they would stick it under a desk. But I don’t do any of those things, so why can’t I chew it? What teachers don’t know is that most students including myself, don’t chew gum to annoy their classmates or teachers. They chew it because it helps them perform their role as a student better and for personal reasons. Students should be allowed to chew gum during school because it can help them improve their grades, health, and it makes their learning process easier.

Gum isn’t just something that a person chews. Most people don’t know this but gum actually helps a student academically. Studies from Universities have shown that if a person chews a different flavored gum than they usually do while they study and if they chew that same flavored gum while taking the test it improves their memory. Students have also taken surveys where one group took a test without chewing gum and the other group did. It resulted with the group chewing gum to have higher grades. There are several types of surveys and experiments that students do to test if gum really helps with school and the results always comes back proving that is does in fact help students with their education.

The great thing about chewing gum is that it doesn’t just help with studies. It benefits a student’s health by many ways too, it can prevent tooth decay, help with digestion, calorie intake, and freshen up a person’s breath. According to International Chewing Gum Association, most gum made nowadays fight tooth decay. Recent studies have also shown that chewing gum could help fight obesity in teens. It helps with your calorie intake by reducing hunger cravings because the gum provides them with enough satisfaction and helps prevent temptations of wanting unhealthy snacks. This would avoid unnecessary snacking, which is where most calories come from. Wrigley’s gum have about five calories and have zero sugar in them, which is nothing compared to other snacks. When I get hungry and it’s not time for a proper meal, I usually just chew a piece of gum and after that my cravings are gone. Gum also increases the flow of saliva, this helps with digestion, which means food break down into nutrients your body needs quicker. Lots of teens these days are having trouble with weight management and digestion, and one easy way to fix that is gum.

To achieve good grades on a test, students need to have a deep understanding of the information. This is where gum is involved. Gum helps a person learn by increasing concentration, reducing boredom, stress, and it’s easier to pay attention. A study in Japan proved that chewing gum boosted blood flow to the brain up to 40 percent. Increased blood flow means increased oxygen to the brain, and increased oxygen means increased concentration. Dr. Andrew Johnson a psychology professor at Bournemouth University said, “It’s also possible that the motion of chewing helped to maintain attention because participants were moving a little, rather than sitting stationary.” This would also help students be less bored, since they’re not just sitting down stiff and listening. The motion of chewing gum has also been proven to reduce stress levels of students. In other words, lots of students struggle with concentrating, paying attention, and having too much stress, and if something so simple like gum, can benefit it, it’s clearly something that a student needs.  

To conclude, gum isn’t something that is chewed to bother others. Gum can improve school work and personal health. It wasn’t made to distract others. If the only reason why gum is discouraged from schools is because it distracts other students or teachers, it doesn’t make any sense. There’s only a small percentage of students who chew their gum to annoy others, and in this case, the teacher can just ask him/her to not chew it. A lot of teachers allow students to eat while in class, and snacks can be just as distracting as gum can be. Therefore it doesn’t make sense how something that can be so beneficial to a student be banned from a school. And since school is all about academics, gum can really help students improve as a student and in health terms.