Chefs in the Kitchen

What’s your take on the DBC experience? What is your impression of DBC?

In his Fireside Chat video Shereef Bishay discusses how traditional education is served to students on a plate like a meal in a restaurant. Conversely, he discusses how DBC students are like chefs placed in the kitchen since they are the ones coming up with solutions rather than being spoon-fed them. This enmpowers students with a sense of creative ownership so that they can take control over their own education. I find DBC’s philosophy intriguing and get the impression that students acquire a great deal more practical abilities than they do in most traditional programs. I also get the sense that the DBC staff and students all encourage and inspire one another.

DBC doesn’t just guide students on the journey to learning to program. It also places a strong emphasis on developing empathy since being able to explain our thought processes and connect with others will be an important part of any career that we have in the future. Spending a significant amount of time pair programming not only helps us improve our technical aptitude but also gives us an opportunity to practice empathy. As someone with a psychology background, I appreciate this emphasis on developing emotional intelligence.

How do you see yourself engaging with this type of culture?

I am excited to be a part of the collaborative, supportive culture at DBC. Most of my homework in college was solo work. Even in research laboratories that I worked in, I was part of a team but spent hours at a time completing tasks on my own. As a result, pair programming is a new experience for me since we have to explain our thought process out loud step by step. I find this way of working to be stimulating and am looking forward to continuing to improve at it. I also am not used to feeling vulnerable since the classes that I took in the past came naturally to me yet computer programming doesn’t seem to to the same extent. Embracing our vulnerability is a part of the DBC culture, and it will be a valuable experience to learn how to accept this part of myself.

Have your expectations of DBC changed? If so, how?

When I first heard of programming bootcamps several years ago, I had an image in my head of people typing away at their computers for hours at a time with zero social interaction. Boy was I wrong! DBC has changed my expectation of bootcamps and software engineering in general in such an awesome way. I now see that DBC and what comes after are as much a social experience as technical.

Are you excited to participate in this kind of learning environment? Does it make you nervous?

I am thrilled to participate in this kind of learning environment. I am a bit nervous too because I know so little about programming, but that is part of what makes this opportunity so exciting.