By Valerie Nea

Copy Editor

  Teachers have the power to grant or deny students the right to eat in class. To some teachers, eating in class may be distraction but what they should consider is the concentration and performance improvement it will bring.

   Some teachers find eating in class disrupting to the learning process, however, they should trust students to be respectful through cleaning up wrappers and choosing snacks that are not going to bother others.

  Students today commonly experience high academic pressure and partake in extracurricular activities that have high demands physically and mentally. Therefore, it is important that they stay healthy through eating enough.

  “Your brain will consume large amounts of glucose when it’s dealing with mentally challenging work, and low glucose levels will quickly lead to cognitive impairment,” Siliconrepublic reports.

   When students are hungry, they are more prone to falling asleep and not performing to their full capabilities. Food provides the primary energy source to fuel the body and brain to optimize performance.

  According to The Borgen Project, a non-profit organization that addresses poverty and hunger, “Hunger can also cause behavioral problems in a classroom setting.. and the overall learning atmosphere which disturbs the affected child’s learning.”

  A lack of food can cause students to have upset stomachs, making paying attention and learning more difficult. On an empty stomach, the ability to complete tasks and focus on the subject matter is impaired. By allowing students to eat in class, teachers can count on students to perform better overall as a result of being able to re-energize.

  Community Health recommends that, “students need to eat something healthy about every three hours during the day to keep the brain and muscles fueled, the metabolism moving, and blood sugar levels constant.”

  Furthermore, many students constantly skip meals such as breakfast and lunch, emphasizing the need to allow students to compensate for lost energy.

  Senior Wynee Tran states “I skip breakfast everyday because I am always running late for class and sometimes lunch too because I’m in classrooms asking teachers for help.”

  Giving students the ability to eat in class promotes a healthy lifestyle and allows students to take care of their body throughout the day. With more time to eat, kids are given more opportunities to intake the essential nutrients and vitamins the body needs.

  When debating if students should be able to eat in their class, teachers should consider the impact snacks could have on the concentration and performance of their students.