What are three new things you have learnt about yourself and your ego due to the core learning?
One thing I have learned with the core exercises is that I can learn not only how to code, but also how to train my brain to be more positive (growth mindset). I learned that embracing the challenges make us grow and that I have a lot I can contribute with in a programming team, despite my lack of experience in this area.
What are the role of values, empathy, and self-awareness in learning and programming?
Personal values are what guide our choices, based in what we believe is right or good. I believe that our values strongly impact our decisions, goals and motivation, and it can be crucial while learning or working in any environment. Members of a team usually agree to follow some important values like honesty, integrity, respect. This way all members of the team know what standards they will be expected to use to guide their decisions and behaviour while in that group.
Empathy is being mindful of other people's feelings. It can be hard to remember that when we are struggling with something, because we tend to focus on our own problems and forget that others around us might be also going through a hard time. The good thing is, that everyone can learn to be an empath and strengthen that skill through practice. It makes a big difference when we work with others, give and receive feedback about our work, and all kinds of interaction we have in school or work. In programming it also makes a difference in acknowledging that what is easy for one can be extremely difficult for someone else, and vice-versa, and there is no need to compare one's achievements with the others.
What has surprised you the most about the core learning?
What has surprised me the most during the Core learning was the fact that so far, in 5 weeks learning programming, I've seen more focus in cultivating a healthy mental and emotional environment here than I've seen in 14 years as a healthcare student and professional. I'm glad that it's seen with this importance, as it clearly affects one's well-being and productivity.
What were the most challenging aspects of the core learning?
I'm not much of a writer, so all the blogs were a little hard for me to complete. Mostly because I overthink everything I need to write, and after I write it all, I read again and change a lot of things, so I have spent a lot of time on the blog post assignments.
Why do you think we, a programming school, are spending so much time focusing on core learning in a web development Bootcamp course?
I've seen improvement in how I operate in front of difficult problems, ever since I started studying the core content. Our most important tool in this line of work, is our brain, and the strategies we learned with core, allow us to provide the best environment for our brains to strive. So it does make a lot of sense to me that it is part of the curriculum.
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.
I've never felt the time studying the core content was a waste of time. It helps us with problem solving, team work, time management, giving and receiving feedbacks, and also in the whole learning process. Those are all important skills for programming, and what we learn in the core content helps us to do it better that we would without it.