I can see what Coding House was trying to accomplish from this description: give the attendees a 'solved' but real problem that they could start building day 1. Show them how to be self reliant in terms of finding answers for themselves (important for any development career). Address the commonly neglected area of interpersonal networking and personal branding (I can't believe I just used that phrase with a straight face, but there it is).
But it seems like it was geared toward people who already had a handle on programming. This, along with inflated marketing promises (welcome to the business world) is where things collapsed.
These are fixable problems. First, time should be split between instruction on concrete beginner level topics and the project. Preferably relevant to the task they will be tackling in the project itself. The instructor should be very well versed in the technologies at least so far as the previously solved project the students build is concerned. The project itself and the steps needed to accomplish the project should be very well understood. The instructor should have a step by step guide from start to finish. This would take doing the project from scratch a few times using the notes from the previous one as a guide. That guide shouldn't be shared with the developers but it should serve as a reference to get them unstuck after beating their head against Google and Stack Overflow.
And, of course, you shouldn't make promises of employment that you can't keep.
Now, those seem to be very core problems but I do see the logic behind a lot of the rest. Exercise is important to work into your routine. Networking is important. Learning to solve your own problems is important. Working with others is important. Doing promo photoshoots and locking your laptop? Not so much.
I can see why this person would want their money back and if I were Coding House I'd pay it, but I don't think everything is as damning as this letter makes out. With some serious tweaks it is recoverable. I think their heart was likely in the right place.
Comments
I can see what Coding House was trying to accomplish from this description: give the attendees a 'solved' but real problem that they could start building day 1. Show them how to be self reliant in terms of finding answers for themselves (important for any development career). Address the commonly neglected area of interpersonal networking and personal branding (I can't believe I just used that phrase with a straight face, but there it is).
But it seems like it was geared toward people who already had a handle on programming. This, along with inflated marketing promises (welcome to the business world) is where things collapsed.
These are fixable problems. First, time should be split between instruction on concrete beginner level topics and the project. Preferably relevant to the task they will be tackling in the project itself. The instructor should be very well versed in the technologies at least so far as the previously solved project the students build is concerned. The project itself and the steps needed to accomplish the project should be very well understood. The instructor should have a step by step guide from start to finish. This would take doing the project from scratch a few times using the notes from the previous one as a guide. That guide shouldn't be shared with the developers but it should serve as a reference to get them unstuck after beating their head against Google and Stack Overflow.
And, of course, you shouldn't make promises of employment that you can't keep.
Now, those seem to be very core problems but I do see the logic behind a lot of the rest. Exercise is important to work into your routine. Networking is important. Learning to solve your own problems is important. Working with others is important. Doing promo photoshoots and locking your laptop? Not so much.
I can see why this person would want their money back and if I were Coding House I'd pay it, but I don't think everything is as damning as this letter makes out. With some serious tweaks it is recoverable. I think their heart was likely in the right place.