At Dev Bootcamp, we have three agreements that guide our actions (this includes staff). We expect every person to uphold these values every day in Phase 0 and in the program. By enrolling in DBC, you agree to these agreements.
In simplest form, this means being honest. One way to embody integrity is "doing the right thing even when no one is watching."
At Dev Bootcamp, we are asking you to do a crazy thing: to learn how to be a web developer within a matter of weeks. For you to reach this goal, we need everyone to work together, follow our methodology, and agree to adhere to the rules and guidelines that have made Dev Bootcamp be successful.
At Dev Bootcamp, we have codes of conduct that support an optimal learning environment and ensure that everyone gets the most out of the program. We expect you to be in integrity with:
- Showing up on time
- Working through the curriculum each week
- Communicating with your accountability group and Phase 0 staff when you are struggling
- Pairing with others
- Asking for help
- Submitting and rating feedback
- Posting and responding to questions on the community
- Going through the entire process outlined in each challenge
Part of being in integrity also means that when you fall out of it for whatever reason (such as being a human being) you own up to it. Most of the time all it takes is an acknowledgment of being out of integrity and everybody can move on.
We also expect every person to be kind to one another. Kindness does not mean "nice;" they are actually not the same thing. Being kind does mean being friendly, generous, and considerate, but it does not preclude giving constructive, truthful feedback as long as it is Actionable, Specific, and Kind (ASK).
We expect all of you and staff to show kindness by providing feedback and code reviews to one another, informing one another when someone has fallen out of integrity, and by bringing ourselves 100% into each challenge every day. We also show kindness through showing respect to others and our space.
Last but not least, we expect you to be kind to yourself. You've taken a big risk and are making a big change. Give yourself some space and understanding as you face the challenges of our program.
This may be the most straight-forward agreement. In essence, we expect you to bring your whole self (your intelligence, focus, creativity, and personality) into each challenge every day. This means that we expect you to do your best to meet each learning competency. If you are struggling, we expect you to ask others (including staff) for help.
We expect everyone to complete the assigned challenges, but we want to reinforce that it's not about completing the challenge if nothing is learned. The DBC experience is fundamentally about learning. We expect you to demonstrate effort and mastery of each learning competency by completing the challenges.
Not meeting these agreements are grounds for being asked to leave the program (at any phase).
We will send periodic updates to those of you who have not submitted your work, missed a Guided Pairing Session (GPS), or have fallen out of integrity in other ways. These emails are not meant to shame. Rather, we simply want to remind you of your agreement to come to DBC in integrity, with kindness, and with effort everyday. We want to give everyone the opportunity to meet these agreements.
However, we recognize that life happens which can make it impossible to complete every challenge. In these situations, it's vital that you communicate with staff regularly to create a personal action plan that will get you on back on track. At Dev Bootcamp, we hold a very high bar to measure your success and we expect that you leverage all the supports we provide to help you get there - teachers, tutors and your fellow cohort mates.