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12/11/2003 8:47:49 AM
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Debbie
Posts 69
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LUCKNOW, India (AP) -- Teachers in India`s most populous state have been told to stop knitting in classrooms and pay more attention to their students.
"They are often more interested in knitting than in teaching," Neera Yadav, the principal secretary of education for Uttar Pradesh, said Wednesday. "All the officials -- including teachers and clerks -- in the primary and secondary sections have been banned from knitting on school premises during teaching hours."
Complaints from parent groups prompted the ban, which went into effect November 26.
Teachers, however, are fighting back.
"People concentrate better when they knit," argued Panchanan Rai, a teachers` representative in the state legislature.
"What`s wrong if they sit in the staff room and knit during free periods?" asked R.P. Mishra, a spokesman for the Uttar Pradesh Secondary Education Teachers` Association, calling the ban "dictatorial."
Mishra said the teachers have threatened to strike for the right to knit, but the government has not responded.
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12/11/2003 11:23:34 AM
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Guest
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What`s the private school system that teaches kids to knit, etc - Waldorf Schools - (sorry, one of many memory slips) because the kids learn better if their hands are active. Of course, we are not talking Elaine`s Arans that would require my full concentration and then some, but kids especially kinetic learners benefit bunches from having body movement. In school, we were allowed to knit during chapel. Knitting is a heck of a lot less annoying than pencil tapping! But again, if the teachers are knitting Elaine`s Arans or Bets` pumpkin hat even, they may indeed not be paying enough attention to the kids. Having been a teacher, though, not paying attention to the kids can be a sanity saver. I`m on all three sides of the fence.
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12/11/2003 2:42:09 PM
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Guest
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I am a High School English Teacher who sometimes knits or even spins on a drop spindle while walking around the classroom helping students. Where else are teenagers who have not already seen these things going to see them?
I am also on all three sides of the fence here, because I can see the potential for abuse and also the benefits, but it actually tickles me pink to think I have colleagues in India threatening to strike over being allowed to knit in school...I can barely even get them to give me chalk at mine!
Theresa
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12/11/2003 5:34:35 PM
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bets
Posts 18976
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I was the kid who would take the paperback reading assignment home and finish it that night. I am all FOR knitting in long meetings, seminars, etc. I guarantee I won`t be dying of boredom!
B
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12/12/2003 9:01:19 PM
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benne
Posts 19258
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I knit everywhere (except Mass) and I could probably get by with that if the church were darker. Maybe they would think it was my rosary beads clicking. My best friend is a special education teacher 7th and 8th graders- I know that`s not what they call it now but I have too many acronyms in my head to think of the right one - and I know if she could knit in class it might relieve some of the stress from dealing with so many emotionally disturbed and hormonally ragins teens. I know there is an end to that sentence somewhere sooner but it`s late. I also find people always ask me what I`m making and start to relate knitting stories about themself or someone they know. Besides, I think knitting in class could set a good example of using time wisely,etc. but I do see a possibilty of abuse by some (k)nitwits.
Benne
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12/17/2003 8:14:18 PM
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Guest
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Theresa, I just want to say that I totally commend you for taking your fiber arts all through your day to day life! I`m likewise on all three sides of the fence. ;-)
This year I`ve been on a mission to give handmade things to everyone for the holidays, and have found tons of interested people around the office where I work, which is great if you ask me. I`d love to be able to take "hand-fidget" level projects to meetings and whatnot. Heh.
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