Knitting during class: ok or not?

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Hi folks,

so I'm an auditory/kinesthetic learner, and I recently decided to start bringing my knitting to class, to see if it kept me more engaged in the lecture and off my electronics. It's pretty much a silent hobby, so I was surprised when a friend/classmate mentioned that she felt it was distracting and rude to the professor and other students. This is a class with many people on their laptops/tablets for lecture. Anyway, I grew up with a knitting mama who had hers everywhere, so I've never really seen it as inappropriate. Just curious what you all think? Would it bother you? More or less than people using electronics or eating in class?

Thanks for for the thoughts :)

Specializes in OB-Gyn/Primary Care/Ambulatory Leadership.
Are you going to knit when a doctor is giving you orders? If this is a serious post and not a troll then you need to go get counseling on how to grow up and act like a professional. When you are talking to a patient who is dying are you going to whip out your cell phone to talk with friends? Knitting in class? I would kick you out of my class.

I think that's a little harsh. And comparing that to whipping out a cellphone while talking to a dying patient is pretty hyperbolic and ridiculous.

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Specializes in PACU.
I think that's a little harsh. And comparing that to whipping out a cellphone while talking to a dying patient is pretty hyperbolic and ridiculous.

Yeah, I don't see the correlation between knitting in class and pulling out a cellphone when taking report or dealing with a patient.

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Specializes in Prior military RN/current ICU RN..

Right..you don't care what others think of you...so that means everyone should be just like you.

Hey..lets just get rid of all professionalism. Why not just do handstands in class..fart..burp...sing. Who cares..I am going to do whatever I want.

OR hey..I am in a setting where my actions could affect others. Wow..concept! Thinking about how I am perceived is HUGE in nursing. You can be a so-so nurse who presents as professional and polite..it will go MILES. Nurses I have known who have been sued were all decent nurses, but they were totally UNPROFESSIONAL. Easy targets. This "student" needs to realize that no one is forcing her to be a nursing student. If she chooses to be a nursing student then she needs to understand that being professional is not an option. Do people seriously think this career is just some kind of easy job like working fast food? Stuff can go bad QUICK and your butt can be sued QUICK. Lives are at stake. Millions of dollars are at stake. Good luck. When the lawsuits fly no one cares that you have to keep your hands moving.

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I sat next to a girl once who did nothing but doodle during lectures. It drove me nuts. So I said something to the instructor about it and she said, "maybe she has ADHD and it helps her to concentrate by keeping her hands busy."

I say, as long as you sit in the back and get all the notes you need, if it's quiet and helps you, then go for it. I have also sat next to a girl who sewed bows for her kids and it didn't bother me and lo and behold on the next exam she rocked it, because keeping her hands busy actually helped her to concentrate more.

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I sat next to a girl once who did nothing but doodle during lectures. It drove me nuts. So I said something to the instructor about it and she said, "maybe she has ADHD and it helps her to concentrate by keeping her hands busy."

Several people on this thread have said "if you have to do something with your hands, doodle". But based on your post, even doodling would get its share of naysayers! The OP can't seem to win, I think.

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Are you going to knit when a doctor is giving you orders? If this is a serious post and not a troll then you need to go get counseling on how to grow up and act like a professional. When you are talking to a patient who is dying are you going to whip out your cell phone to talk with friends? Knitting in class? I would kick you out of my class.

Hold on a minute. You wonder if the OP is serious in her question about knitting, but you go through some really WILD leaps to conclusions that have absolutely NO correlation at all: you honestly can equate a question about whether her hands are busy or quiet during a lecture to whipping out a cell phone to chat with friends during a conversation with a dying patient? Or when taking MD orders?

You tell her to "get counseling on how to grow up" but you post messages such as this one? Your response to a respectful, inquiring post was incredibly rude. Perhaps you need to reconsider your need to belittle the OP in this manner.....maybe counseling? ;)

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Specializes in PACU.
Right..you don't care what others think of you...so that means everyone should be just like you.

Hey..lets just get rid of all professionalism. Why not just do handstands in class..fart..burp...sing. Who cares..I am going to do whatever I want.

OR hey..I am in a setting where my actions could affect others. Wow..concept! Thinking about how I am perceived is HUGE in nursing. You can be a so-so nurse who presents as professional and polite..it will go MILES. Nurses I have known who have been sued were all decent nurses, but they were totally UNPROFESSIONAL. Easy targets. This "student" needs to realize that no one is forcing her to be a nursing student. If she chooses to be a nursing student then she needs to understand that being professional is not an option. Do people seriously think this career is just some kind of easy job like working fast food? Stuff can go bad QUICK and your butt can be sued QUICK. Lives are at stake. Millions of dollars are at stake. Good luck. When the lawsuits fly no one cares that you have to keep your hands moving.

OK, I just have to step in here and give my $0.02 about this. I am one of the posters that said it seemed rude, perception is everything, blah blah blah... But you are taking some serious leaps and bounds with this post. I'm quite sure the OP is not sitting down knitting at every junction of nursing school from lecture to clinical. From my understanding, it is just lecture and s/he is not going to be a horrible nurse that is going to be sued a thousand times because she's brought her knitting to class a couple times.

She very clearly is not going to tell a patient, "sorry, I'm really having a hard time paying attention to you right now. Do you mind if I knit while you talk to me?" We all know that.

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Eh. I would maybe do it in the back of a big lecture hall, but otherwise find another outlet. I need to doodle and couldn't give a poop less if it bothers someone, but that's something that only people right next to me would notice. Knitting isn't terribly discreet and I wouldn't do it in a smallish classroom. Either way I'd definite talk to your prof about it so your intentions are clear.

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Specializes in Emergency Room, Trauma ICU.
I sat next to a girl once who did nothing but doodle during lectures. It drove me nuts. So I said something to the instructor about it and she said, "maybe she has ADHD and it helps her to concentrate by keeping her hands busy."

I say, as long as you sit in the back and get all the notes you need, if it's quiet and helps you, then go for it. I have also sat next to a girl who sewed bows for her kids and it didn't bother me and lo and behold on the next exam she rocked it, because keeping her hands busy actually helped her to concentrate more.

I'm sorry but how in the world did someone doodling during a lecture distract you to the point that you went to the teacher about it?? That's like complaining that a student was writing notes! And yet someone making bows didn't bother you at all?? That just seems absurd.

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Specializes in M/S, LTC, Corrections, PDN & drug rehab.
I'm sorry but how in the world did someone doodling during a lecture distract you to the point that you went to the teacher about it?? That's like complaining that a student was writing notes! And yet someone making bows didn't bother you at all?? That just seems absurd.

Lol. That's what I wanna know. How was the doodling more bothersome than the sewing? You were paying so close attention to the doodles but not to the lecture?

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Appreciate the majority of the responses in here, although it does seem like some of you are drawing some sweeping conclusions about my aptitude for school/nursing. Anyway, I will certainly take it up with my professors, who seem generally fantastic. To further clarify - my mindset was that in a medium-large lecture lasting 3+ hours, with lots of laptop screens, eating, and keyboard clicking, I was surprised (and still am) that a quiet hand occupier was flagged as the most offensive thing. I could probably find a stress ball or some such toy to serve a similar purpose, but I guess it just seemed more practical to produce something from my fidgety tendencies. Fwiw, several classmates have also indicated that they find it totally acceptable. Good perspectives on this topic, allnurses :)

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Specializes in Emergency, Telemetry, Transplant.

I've never seen a fellow student knitting, so I don't know if it is distracting or not. My guess is, that if the knitter was sitting near me, it could be distracting, but that is just speculation.

I think you have to speak with your instructor. If I was teaching a class and someone was knitting during the lecture, I would think they are not paying attention and/or not taking it seriously, and I would have trouble recommending that person for nice independent study site or a good nursing job. Even if you do talk with the instructor, he/she might make a relationship in his/her mind between a bad test result and your knitting during lecture.

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