Foundations Reflections
A reflection on Foundations - Core
May 7, 2022 by Tim Greenslade
What are three new things you have learnt about yourself and your ego due to the core learning?
- have been reminded of the value of asking for help. I've spent a decade working in the library. I've been the person who trains new team members, and now I'm relearning what it's like to be a student.
- am already very good at working on problems, when coding I often find myself in a state of flow. But I have found that When I put conscious effort into planning and scheduling my time, I can achieve so much more.
- learn more effectively when I tell someone about what I've been working on.
What is the role of values, empathy, and self-awareness in learning and programming?
Values help us define who we are, how we interact with life and what we need to be happy. Sharing our values can lead to more effective teams, enabling people to hone their strengths, skills, and growth. If someone feels accepted and valued for who they are, they will be much more inclined to turn up every day, fully and their importance to the team will grow.
Self-awareness allows us to stay in touch with our values, and our emotions. It lets us know what we need to maintain our wellbeing. Actively tending to our wellbeing allows us to be in a mindset that fosters everything necessary for not just learning and programming, but for living a fulfilling life.
Empathy allows you to take all the above and apply it to building a better understanding, respect, and value for the people around you. If everyone is empathetic, it fosters an environment where people feel safe to share their values and needs safety.
What has surprised you the most about the core learning?
Thinking like a programmer isn't so much about belting out perfect code, as it is about being able to articulate what you want your code to do, problem solving, researching, and working with others.
What were the most challenging aspects of the core learning?
Articulating our core values, strengths, and limitations. It can be a tricky task to define oneself, given the complex multifaceted nature of identity.
Why do you think we, a programming school, are spending so much time focusing on core learning in a web development Bootcamp course? Why is learning about this not a waste of time?
Graduating students with only technical skills and introducing them to tech companies is a bit like handing an artist a bunch of bristles without a handle and expecting them to use it as a paint brush. It would make painting very difficult.
Employers need to have employees that are self-aware, empathetic, communicative, and work well with others. They need this to be able to apply code where and how its needed, just as an artist does with paint.
