• What are three new things you have learnt about yourself and your ego due to the core learning?
I ‘ve learnt that I can let go of my ego when approaching work that is too difficult for me to do alone. I’ve learnt that while I like to ask for help, I feel the need to phrase it in a way that puts the least amount of pressure on the helper. I may spend a little too much time on this. My time management is my biggest obstacle in everything I do.
• What are the role of values, empathy, and self-awareness in learning and programming?
Despite the stereotype, learning and programming are not solitary tasks. They require lots of interaction and cooperation, between classmates, co-workers, student and facilitator, and of course, client and service provider. So good values, lots of empathy, and adequate self-awareness can help us to navigate through these working and personal relationships with more ease and pleasure.
• What has surprised you the most about the core learning?
The idea of neuroplasticity and growth mindset, and how I’ve become much more optimistic after learning about those ideas.
• What were the most challenging aspects of the core learning?
Detailed reflections and creating a learning plan.
• Why do you think we, a programming school, are spending so much time focusing on core learning in a web development Bootcamp course?
I think the Bootcamp will be very challenging to us on a core level, so in order to get the most out of the course and not to get overwhelmed, we need to make sure our core values are being looked after and that we’re able to balance the stress and frustration that will inevitably come up during difficult times.
• Does the time you spent studying core learning here feel like a waste of time? Should you have just used that time to practise programming instead? Justify your answer.
Definitely not a waste of time, because I agree that it’s an important part of any learning and working process. However, getting my head around the tech aspects are challenging enough, so I don’t really look forward to doing more work in the core components.