coreyhaines

I also sent a private email to Heather apologizing. I felt a public apology was in order, as well, since the mean comment was done publicly. Unfortunately, in such a loud, public setting as twitter, saying "I'm sorry" necessarily takes on a public form, as well.

I've contacted her privately, as well. I thought it was important to publicly apologize, since I publicly said the mean thing.

True. I spoke before thinking of the effect. I'm glad it was brought to my attention.

I hope it is an even better "I'm sorry."

It is an honest apology. I didn't realize how bad it was until I was called out. It isn't "oh, I got caught," it is "oh, shit, that was a really bad thing to do." It was an unthinking mistake on my part. I'm human and make mistakes.

LOVE FOR TENDERLOVE! <3 Thanks for the prompt action.

With hands-on, 5 days a week, many hours a day, intense one-on-one mentoring, I'm still skeptical.

With the rise and popularity of 'teach to code' services, it remains to be seen which model works best. Taking a person from 0 (or very, very little) knowledge and experience to the point where they can be at all effective as a software developer is difficult. Expecting a matter of weeks to turn someone such as this into hireable material is a dangerous attitude to have. I'm very curious to see the graduates of these courses and even more curious to see how their skills are represented to possible hiring companies.

Feral,

Those are common and very valid concerns. Over the past (nearly) 3 years, the format has really proven itself as a great way to focus on the design of your code and practice the process of writings tests.

Thanks for being open-minded about the idea; it is great to mix it with a bit of skepticism. :) Looking forward to hearing your thoughts after attending.

Really excited for this. Going to be a fantastic day of practice, community and fun!

Also, spend time doing focused practices. Attend a coderetreat (www.coderetreat.com)