Knitting during lectures..rude or acceptable?

General Knitting
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knitncook–I’m sorry to hear that you had a bad experience but am glad that you’ve found something effective. All kids diserve an appropriate education and it is possible to do it but it is essential that the staff is adequately trained. Unfortunately, some teachers/schools are ineffective b/c their administration doesn’t advocate for enough training for their faculty and staff.

I agree about this website being fabulous–I am a little amused that my post–which I thought would get a few looks and maybe a response or two has caused such a stir! I’m so glad everyone weighed in with their opinions–as I stated in an earlier post–even if it doesn’t mirror my own, I’m glad to be made aware of the feelings of others! :slight_smile:

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Michelle: I’m always suspicious of “studies,” but when I see the results borne out in my classrooms every semester for 10 years, then the findings of the studies have meaning to me. Of course I recognize that knitting and doodling are certainly different from, say, text-messaging or studying for another class! And I am certainly not saying that ALL who multi-task suffer; that is simply a faulty generalization.

Ooh, and as for “grey matter in hands” (what a neat way of saying that!): One of my best students a few semesters ago is an artist, and he amazed me: he always participated in class and had really thoughtful and insightful comments about whatever we were reading, yet his entire time in class was spent drawing his classmates (and me!). AND, English is not his first language; he is Italian. I asked him once how he managed to do that, and he just shrugged, “I don’t know, I just can.”

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Oh I agree. My best friend lives an hour away from me (2 counties over) and their schools are so lovely. They recognize children’s different needs and work hard to meet those needs. Our county has so many in need that no one group of needs is met effectively. It’s sad. I have several friends who are teachers in our school district and it frustrates them to no end that almost all the students are lacking for something (they call our county the “Every Child Left Behind” county - and that’s the teachers talking!!!) I always knew I was going to homeschool though. My oldest child went to a total of 2.5 years of school here and there - sporadically as she wanted and I needed. My younger two have each only been in school for one year each. They love the freedom of homeschooling and our days are filled with so many interesting things and activities. I :heart: it! And because of the way we homeschool it has encouraged me to do a lot of exploring, trying, reevaluating and stretching. I forgot how much I really like learning new things!

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knitncook–you sound like my older sister. She homeschools her two children and loves it! She’s in CA…

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If the dh and I ever have children, we hope to homeschool them. The homeschooled students I’ve had have been exemplary students and often have much more well-rounded educations than those taught in public schools. I really admire those of you who do it! :heart: And of course part of our teaching would include knitting! :wink:

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I’ve actually had a different experience with homeschooled kids in my college classes. I’ve found that the ones I know haven’t really had enough experience interacting with other students in a classroom setting and have trouble with the difference between positive contribution and negative contribution in discussion sections.

I realize I’m making a gross generalization here - it’s probably just the individual people I know. But I don’t think I’d homeschool my kids, if I have them. I think it’s also important for kids to have experience in a group setting where the attention isn’t necessarily on their individual learning needs, especially if they intend on going on to college and getting advanced degrees.

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I have to agree with that. The only homeschooled kids I know really don’t seem to know the difference between positive and negative contribution. But I’m willing to believe it’s just the people I know. I had a friend who was homeschooled when I was in elementary school and I got sick of her always telling me she was so much smarter than I was because she could do a whole day’s worth of school in two hours and it took me six. :rollseyes: But, again, that was just one person.

I LOVED public school. I honestly don’t feel like my mother would have been qualified to teach me past about the second grade, and I think I would have been resistant to learning from her. I loved everything about public school. I thrive on listening to other people ask questions. If I were the only person in my learning environment, I feel like I would miss a lot that I’ve learned because other people have thought to ask. Not that I think homeschooling is bad at all in general, but I guess I feel like I need to stick up for public school. It CAN be right for some people.

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I have known maladjusted homeschoolers (not in my classes), but the ones I know have been homeschooled for the sole purpose of keeping them away from others, which explains their poor social skills. In one family I know, three of the five children stutter and shake when they have to interact with strangers. It’s just heartbreaking. There are plenty of homeschoolers who are active outside the home, and most importantly outside a small social circle (extended family and very close friends). I can certainly see why you would have reservations about homeschooling your own, though, if you haven’t seen instances where it has been beneficial.

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:oops: [size=1]I shake and stutter when I have to interact with strangers![/size] (not always, though…depends on the situation)

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No, this is beyond normal anxieties, Cate! (I have those, too!) :smiley: It’s like the kids are having the DTs or some kind of mini-seizures. Now granted, there could be something else going on with them. I just wonder, though, since the only people they ever see are their other family members and occasionally the people at their church (they only go about once a month). They’re just so isolated.

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I have to step in and defend the homeschooling community a bit, since I homeschool both kids, too. I should also mention that I haven’t taken the time to read this entire thread; just the last page at this point.

I think that you have to always consider that there will always be those who have been homeschooled effectively, and those who haven’t. There are kids who were sent through public school who are inept in a group setting, and there are kids who have been homeschooled who are very adept in a group setting. It all depends on the kid and what they’ve been exposed to.

Like most homeschoolers I know, we make sure that our children take part in plenty of group activities – scouts, TaeKwonDo, gymnastics, CCD (Catholic religious ed.), and whatever other opportunities arise.

However, there are unfortunately families who do intentionally shelter their children from “the real world,” and I find that to be a disservice to the child, and it can make it difficult for the rest of us who really DO try to do an effective job of truly socializing our children.

I just had a phone call earlier this week from the Child Life Specialist at the hospital where my son was getting his cancer treatment. She had a child from a family who “homeschools” their children. Unfortunately, Grandma was homeschooling the kids from a workbook she bought at Wal-Mart. She was really excited about this workbook because she got it on sale.

Additionally, the whole reason they were homeschooling was because the kids at school would make fun of these kids. This was probably due to the lack of personal hygiene of not only the children but the family in general. The children are about 2 grade-levels behind where they should be. Under these circumstances, no, these children should not be homeschooled. And there should be some type of intervention. {sigh} It’s very disheartening to me to hear stories like this, because if this is the only “homeschooling” family a person is exposed to, then this is the impression they will have of homeschoolers.

OK … off of my soapbox. I guess I just want to make sure that everyone realizes that there are many different styles of homeschooling just as there are many different styles of parenting. And just like you will find successful and unsuccessful students in public and private school settings, so you will find them in a homeschooling setting as well. It’s not necessarily the school setting that is the root of their problems.

We have found homeschooling to be a blessing in so many ways, and I believe it is the best way for our specific children to be educated. I also believe that as they move out into the world as adults, they will be more than ready and able to cope and interact with a variety of people.

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OK … I just went back and read the first 1-1/2 pages of this thread, and the original topic is FASCINATING!

Like Hedgie (and someone else I’m at a loss to remember … sorry!) I do find it disturbing that standards of behavior have been lowered so dramatically since I was a child. I even find it affecting the way my children behave, because like all children, they will often base their behavior based on the way kids around them are behaving – or at least that’s been my experience when they were younger. Now that they are older, they’re understanding that they need to be setting a good example for those around them.

Oh, I have so much more to say on this, but I’m having trouble getting it into a form where my point will make sense … perhaps later.

So, for now and in defense of the Lecture Knitters, I can totally and completely understand a person’s need to do this. I’ve taught my DS – the fidgeter – to knit for this very reason. He’s good at sitting and listening for a certain amount of time, and sometimes this isn’t long enough. So, if he has something like knitting to do while I’m reading to them, he’s much more settled. If I let him do Legos or draw, that can help, too, but sometimes his right brain takes over, and he’s more involved in the drawing or Legos than what is being read to him. Knitting seems to be that activity that alleviates his need to fidget but that also doesn’t take over his complete concentration and prevent him from listening. He’s been called a “kinesthetic” learner, and he needs to be doing something active in order for his brain to be able to process what he’s hearing.

And knitting in church??? NO Way! But I find it hilarous that the woman was knitting in her purse. I hope she knows that GOD knows she was knitting. :lol:

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DotMom, thanks for speaking up about the homeschooling. I don’t have such a way with words as you do but you said exactly what I was thinking. I homeschool both of my boys and they are TERRIBLY shy. My younger is worse than my older. No amount of “socializing” will make them speak if they don’t want to, especially with my younger. We think he has a social anxiety so we encourage him to speak but you can see how he will BLUSH and get so nervous if an adult (and sometimes child) speaks to him. Anyway, I don’t think you can categorize all homeschoolers, just like you can’t categorize all public schoolers, or private schoolers.

I LOVE hsing and the relationship it has developed between my boys.

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And Penny, I have met children like this in a public school setting, too! Genetics … that’s what I blame it on. :wink:

BTW … and this isn’t totally related to what we’ve been discussing here … but I found a great book a while back that discusses different personality styles and how they learn and process information. It’s called Nurture By Nature. I don’t usually buy into the “place everyone in a box according to certain characteristics” theories, but my husband and I have taken the Myers-Briggs, which this book is based on, and have found it to be remarkably insightful. So, if you have, like me, a child who seems so very different from you, and you are at your wit’s end as to how to understand them, this is a fantastic book.

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This is really an interesting thread. I am a med student and I knit in school and I would never have imagined that someone would find knitting in large lectures disrespectful.

I know I pay attention better when I knit in lectures but I am selective about which ones this applies to. Lectures where we are just given powerpoint presentations that the teacher narrates are prime candidates because we are given printed copies as well. It is easy to just hold my knitting in one hand for a bit to jot down extra notes or put it down during a more complex explanation that isn’t simply written on the slides.

I was also a teacher before starting med school and didn’t really care what my students did in class as long as they didn’t interrupt the class. These were people in their 20s and they could decide for themselves how to spend their class time.

If grown people (college aged +) are getting distracted by knitting then the knitter isn’t doing it right or the lecture is so boring that watching knitting is more interesting.

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Thanks, DotMom…we think it is part genetics too! LOL I’m shy/quiet in a group or place I don’t feel comfortable and my dh is the same way! My dh is just a quiet kind of guy!

I’ve heard of that book before…I’ll check it out.

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[color=blueviolet]Well said! :cheering: :cheering: :cheering: [/color]

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Well, I am going to put my 2 cents in (Canadian, of course) and hope to heck I don’t get flamed!!

I do knit in church, but that’s because I do listen better when my hands are busy (its the ADD traits). I find I remember the sermon better, and I can explain it and have relevant discussions on the topic. However, I am and will never knit during worship…and my knitting is never disruptive or distracting enough to me or anyone else when I do it (I even went up to the pastor to apologize and ask for permission for next time, and he said he didn’t notice, so I assumed it was ok).

So, there are my two cents. I also tend to knit during my tv time too, but that is pretty normal around these parts, I gather.

Katy

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Katy –

You are PERFECTLY entitled to your opinion, and quite frankly, I’m sure that God’s not too terribly upset with your knitting in church. :wink: It’s what’s in your head and your heart that matter, and He knows all about that! Personally, I don’t think I could pull it off 'cause I would feel too self conscious, but don’t think for a minute that I haven’t considered it! :lol: To me, sitting = knitting time!

Secondly, I’ve yet to see a flame on this entire forum. It just doesn’t happen. We’re too fabulous of a bunch to allow any of THAT nonsense!!! :mrgreen:

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This forum is wonderful! There have been several threads that have made me think “uh oh!” but everyone has been so respectful. Is it any wonder most of us can’t stay away?! :heart: