The past few months, I have been working with Ruby and Ruby-based programs. While this past project was also using a Ruby API backend, the bulk of the application was JavaScript. With that comes a new language to learn using different syntax and live page functionality. There were new things to learn! Event Listeners, realizing that innerHTML += ... deletes all the listeners already present (ouch!), fetch requests, classes, and more. But the things themselves weren’t where the struggles came in. Instead, it was the change in how the section was taught.
Was it taught incorrectly? No, of course not! The difference was that this section was more of a “Dive and Rescue” mission rather than a “Learn to Swim 101” style. While the previous Ruby sections taught the ABC’s of Ruby before building full applications, this section relied on our previously learned problem solving skills to create applications right away. For some, including myself, I felt like I was drowning at first, but now I feel like I can do more JavaScript than Ruby in some ways.
Ultimately, the biggest thing that this section taught me was that there are people around me who can help. For the first major lab, we needed to use setTimeout() which was not yet covered in the curriculum up to that point. I was googling around to help find some answers, and reached out to a fellow cohort member who had done JavaScript before. He said that he would be able to help me later, but to look at a couple built-in functions that allow for some things we need. Once I had those tools, I was able to complete the entire lesson using other skills before he was around to help me.
Working on a team is integral. Being able to navigate resources to both teach yourself and supplement your work is game changing in the world of code. Having to dive in and learn through tough work gave me the opportunity to really work with other members of my community.