More young people are working hard to get a good education and increase their skills for a bright digital future in SA.
Khwezi Luthuli (20), a Germiston High School alumni, shared her experience at a free school of coding called WeThinkCode (WTC_).
She learned about the school after catching up with an old friend in December 2018.
“My friend mentioned that one of her friends was in the process of applying to WTC_ in Johannesburg CBD. I was shocked to learn the application process was a series of games which included a selection boot camp.”
Khwezi matriculated in 2017. She applied and is currently doing her first year at the school.
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Coding life
“Before WTC_, I had never written a single line of code. Writing a set of instructions for a computer to solve problems in languages foreign to me was very challenging. Luckily, my understanding got better with practice.”
Khwezi said what keeps her going is the desire to increase her intellectual and reasoning capacity with challenging activities.
“The satisfaction of getting through a tough concept which is pure gold.”
She explained how sad it is that females only make about 23 percent of the tech industry workforce.
“Coding requires critical thinking, creativity and problem-solving skills, all of which females naturally embody. I think WTC_’s tuition-free course can address such challenges.”
Khwezi spoke more about what she loves most about WTC_.
“I love the culture and the unconventional way of learning.”
Peer to peer learning
Khwezi added with WTC_ being a peer to peer learning institution, it’s important to balance social and technical skills.
“It’s important to communicate differences in creativity and opinions in a way that won’t come across as offensive, belittling or condescending. I have discovered that accounting for personality is a serious skill.”
She said it is a great honour to interact and connect with brilliant minds from different walks of life.
“We are in cohorts with unique individuals at WTC_, however, we respect and celebrate each other’s differences and that creates a non-judgmental and non-toxic environment conducive for peer to peer learning.
“Peer to peer learning promotes a double learning standard. In other words, the exchange of knowledge is gained while teaching and in turn, knowledge is gained while learning.
“We also work based on the Feynman technique which states that the ability to explain a concept using simple language shows understanding and cements concepts,” said the WTC_ student.
The coding student added she sees herself using code to solve problems of inconvenience to large corporates and the society at large.
“To young girls and boys who would like to study coding, I would advise them to think lazy. Unusual I know, but necessity is the mother of all invention, laziness is the mother of necessity, therefore making laziness the grandmother of all invention.
“If humankind never got tired or lazy of making a fire, we would never have a lightbulb in the present-day, laziness promotes problem-solving skills, creativity and critical thinking which is vital for conjuring effective solutions,” said Khwezi.
Contact the newsroom by emailing:
Marietta Lombard (Editor) germistoncitynews@caxton.co.za, or (Journalists) Busi Vilakazi busiv@caxton.co.za , and Lebogang Sekgwama lebogangs@caxton.co.za.
