So I’ve been twitching to get started on what is generally regarding as programming ‘real’ code.
As I understand it HTML and CSS aren’t strictly considered programming. The code is declarative rather than instructional – you are telling the computer about something rather than instructing it to do something.
(Please forgive how crude this may sound!) .
Initially the introductive principals seem clear enough. I’m following my course instructions happily, tap tapping with my two index fingers (the touch-typing isn’t there just yet).
With my hand firmly held, I romp through the early classes and feel pretty ok about it all – this isn’t so bad. The next stages begin and then I’m let loose to write an extremely simple bit of code based on the previous lessons I so happily trotted along with; only this time it’s all down to me, the stabilisers are off.
The scenario brings back a very old and dusty memory of learning to ride a bike aged around 5…?
Everything was going great, I zoomed up and down our quiet little cup-de-sac, my Dad holding onto the saddle, jogging alongside me, until the definitive moment he decided the time had come for me to ‘cross that chasm’ and he let go.
For a moment it was fine, ignorance and momentum kept me going until I realised that I was on my own, then suddenly there was a void where the ‘how to ride a bike’ skill should have been, the crumbling of confidence, then the inevitable, wobble and SMASH!!! (perhaps more of a crumpled prang….I was only little).
I was enjoying it all 5 seconds ago. Now I didn’t. It hurt, my knees and palms were grazed and filled with gravel, I was scared and I didn’t want to do it again.
An introduction to programming feels similar, only the gravel is on the inside, grazing away confidence and self-esteem.
Logical principles alone, seem, well, logical, and new descriptive terms simply are what they are.
I’m all good there, I’m pretty logical, if you tell me a Spade’s a Spade. No problemo, gotcha – this thing here is a Spade! Hah, this is easy.
However as soon as the stabilisers are off, knowing that I’m sat on a bike and that it has handlebars and wheels, doesn’t help me ride it all that much. The actual skill of riding it seems pretty far removed – hence the burning gravel in my palms and knees.
I’ve googled the ‘struggle’ of ‘Learning to code’ plenty now, just to make sure I’m not a complete cretin and not embarking upon my own unwinnable crusade. I’ve been reassured that struggle is par for the course, to get used to it and so long as I’m continuing to learn, that’s just the way it is. No one said this was going to be easy, but when is learning anything new ever easy?
OK. Chin up, back to it.
We’ll keep the stabilisers on for now.
