Foundations Reflection

What are three new things you have learnt about yourself and your ego due to the core learning?

Your ego is a barrier to asking for help. This was huge for me, I had this fear of looking stupid. I didn't think it was that big of a thing until I started foundations.
There is nothing wrong with being the first to ask for help. It was crippling for me in the beginning,in the sense that I would deliberately wait until I had seen someone else post for help in the discord group before feeling comfortable asking. Whereas most people actually had the same thoughts so there was no need to feel scared asking.
You don't need to know it all. Problem solving is what you need to know and not being afraid to use those tools. We are all learning and this is something we can improve on (concept of neuroplasticity).

What is the role of values, empathy, and self-awareness in learning and programming?

Because tech is such a pioneering industry, there's always more to learn. Having values, empathy and self-awareness is a crucial mix to ensure that you don't burn out while on the journey to becoming an awesome dev and keeping up with the industry. Empathy towards others and their plight creates a nurturing, safe environment to learn freely and improve productivity. Self-awareness enables you to adapt faster by identifying points to work on, whether that's being easier on yourself, taking breaks, knowing what might trigger you and how to change your reaction for the next time this might pop up.

What has surprised you the most about the core learning?

The sheer amount of content surprised me. It shows that there is a lot more to learn because it isn't something that is innately there, it is something that we need to work on, just like working out a muscle.

What were the most challenging aspects of the core learning?

The self-reflection. Jotting thoughts down onto paper is one thing, meanigful self-reflection is another. It really forces you to look into the mirror and inspect yourself, no shying away here. This was challenging for me because I think we all have the tendency to shy away from ourselves and think about "what are we really driven by?". It's usually external events in our lives that act as the trigger point, forcing us to reflect upon ourselves rather than a self-driven exercise.

Why do you think we, a programming school, are spending so much time focusing on core learning in a web development Bootcamp course?

There must be a need for it in the industry, that need being to foster more devs with these core qualities.

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.

It gives a unique point of difference. So no, I don't think it was entirely a waste of time. Like all workplaces, you will have to deal with people at some point. In programming, the ability to work in a team on large-scale projects is a necessity.