What are three new things you have learnt as a result of the core learning?

1. My #1 pick for the most valuable programming skill is learning to treat failure as information about the world. It really helps me to know that 'something not working' always has an underlying cause, and that the issue is lies in the gap between the world as it really is and the world as I think it is.
2. The reinforcement that 'skill comes from practice' has been really helpful, and I've put more thought into how I structure each day to make sure I'm learning efficiently.
3. I'm more confident that I'll be able to solve issues with enough time and different problem-solving techniques.

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

Being able to understand and relate to others is important in any workplace. However, it is especially important to programmers, because we will need to understand others' thought processes, and clearly communicate our own, to build things that are scalable.

What has surprised you the most about the core learning?

There weren't any major surprises, but it was interesting to deconstruct my own assumptions about what makes a 'good' programmer.

What were the most challenging aspects of the core learning?

Thinking about my own beliefs and attitudes through an objective lens.

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

Technology changes, but people don't. Over the course of our careers we will need to learn new languages, frameworks, and tools. We will also need to adapt to the different standards and conventions of different workplaces. However, being easy to get along with, a good communicator, and a self-aware and effective learner will always be valuable.

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.

Honestly, in my heart of hearts I did start out feeling that way. I was happy to play along because EDA has much more expertise than I do in teaching people to program, so I assumed they had an reason beyond just learning the human skills necessary in any workplace.

Looking back, I now see that these are the traits that will modify the rate of skill progression over time. Yes, spending 10 hours learning programming concepts instead of human skills right now will put your programming skills ahead. But over the whole course of a career, the person who has trained their emotional intelligence will have more mentorship opportunities, will persevere better in the face of failure, and will have the self-awareness to mitigate their weaknesses. We have about 80,000 hours in our careers. If the person who improves their human skills learns just 1% more efficiently, they have saved 800 hours - well worth the up-front 10 hour investment!