About three weeks ago, I started my programming education at Flatiron School in Denver, Colorado. It is an interesting educational experience when compared to all my previous schooling. The Flatiron school seems to have a strong focus on being able to teach yourself, in whatever way works best for you.
At the very start of the course we were being given lectures, video tutorials, challenge labs, and ‘textbook’ readings. It was, quite frankly, a little intimidating. As someone who has a tough time focusing on assigned readings and lengthy videos, I was worried that I would struggle to keep up. I found myself skipping directly to the challenge labs, thinking that I would need to complete them or I would flunk out of the course. This all changed at the end of the second week, when an upperclassman told me that they never actually attended the lectures.
We had been commiserating over the fast pace of the lecturer, when the upperclassman cut in and shared our sympathies. According to them, they never watched the lectures or the videos, instead opting to teach themselves primarily using the written modules. Another upperclassman then said that they had never read the modules, instead learning largely through the videos. This conversation made it clear to me exactly why all the educational material was so intimidating, I was never meant to consume all of it. All of it was available so prominently, and in so many forms, so that every student would be able to pick and choose what educational tools worked for them. Once I understood this, I became much more confident in my education. I opted to continue cutting straight to the challenges, I find it way easier to learn by doing, than by any other method.
Benjamin McShane
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Learning at Flatiron
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One thing that I was initially worried about in Flatiron, was the social dynamic of different classes, at different points in their education. It was, then, a nice surprise when I discovered how supportive and kind the upperclassmen were. Maybe it was because of the wide range of ages present, or the incredibly short length of the course, but the upperclassmen were really not that intimidating. They would frequently help us with whatever we needed, sharing tools, tips, and tricks on how they managed to overcome their struggles. The loose scheduling of Flatiron meant that you frequently find yourself eating lunch, drinking coffee, or just loitering at the same times as your seniors, making interacting with them very approachable. Overall I really find the social culture at Flatiron to be very welcoming and comfortable.