Why Isn't Gum Allowed in School?

Like so many of life's little pleasures, gum is also a bone of contention between students and school administrators. Chewing gum represents one of the fastest-growing segments of the food industry, and there is little debate about its popularity or its appeal to students. However, the presence of gum poses broader questions for school districts--such as whether to ban it, along with soda pop, and how to deal with the ongoing cleanup costs.

Expensive Removal

Gum is the bane of teachers, educators and school janitors everywhere for many reasons, starting with its composition. Because gum is not meant to be swallowed, the urge to stick it anywhere is irresistible. In the United Kingdom--site of the seventh-largest market, with America and Japan occupying the top two spots--schools spend about £150 million per year to remove chewing gum. To cut costs, many companies produce their gum from petroleum-based polymers, instead of natural products, making it that much harder to remove.

Gross-out Factors

Many a student has innocently stuck their hand under a desk and felt the dried-on blobs of multiple gum pieces. The gross-out factor is pretty intense, especially considering the unsanitary sources of that once-chomped gum. Another gross-out factor can include the chewing, smacking and other irritating sounds that can come with chewing gum.

Stuck Everywhere

Chewing gum is naturally sticky and resistant to solvents, so oil and water are insufficient to remove it, according to the producers special substances designed to solve these problems. Since gum is so disposable, there is no shortage of pieces to remove from the bottoms of desks, floors and the grooves of tennis shoes, among other inconvenient spots. Using ice and a butter knife to remove gum from such places is a tedious, time-consuming project.

Health and Environmental Considerations

Schools have also consistently banned gum on disciplinary grounds, such as the possibility of students jokingly tossing pieces into the hair of their peers--leaving no option, in serious cases, but to cut out the portion that is being targeted. Exposing students to choking hazards is another potential scenario that school districts hope to avoid, as well as the inevitable environmental problems that arise from blasting stray pieces off concrete and wooden surfaces.

Potential

As sales continue to boom, debate will only continue about the merits of one of the world's oldest confections. Many educators maintain that allowing gum is a distraction, if not a potential discipline problem, something that its manufacturers continue to pooh-pooh in pursuit of higher sales. A 2009 CNN report about a study that claimed academic and stress-relieving boosts from chewing gum received less attention than its financial backers--Wrigley, one of the leading producers of the substance.

References

• Gum Bins Are Changing Our Street
• Gum Removal iIn Schools
• Removing Chewing Gum Using Freezing Or Ice

Resources

• Chewing Gum Market Fastest Growing Segment of Packaged Food Industry, says New Report
• Chew on this: Gum may be good for body, mind
• The Student Who Chews Gum In School