The book Apprenticeship Patterns by Dave Hoover and Adewale Oshineye begins with its first chapter which centers on the concept and nature of apprenticeship. In it, the authors compare and contrast the apprenticeships of medieval Europe with the software apprenticeships of today. The following five chapters, of which I have read the introductions of each so far, focuses on individual concepts and attributes important to software apprenticeships. Chapter two focuses on “emptying the cup” or how an apprentice should set aside their existing knowledge in order to fully open themselves up to the different approaches of their colleagues and teachers. Chapter three reminds to not be too discouraged of the achievements of your peers as they’re still learning like the rest of us. Chapter four also reminds to not become too complacent or conceited and instead find ways to improve your weaknesses. Chapter five follows that up by advising that an apprentice should learn how to learn since software development is composed of two primary activities: learning and communication. Chapter six finishes off with the point that even though we live in an age where anyone can access limitless information through the internet, books still have some knowledge you can’t find online.

I mostly agree with the points made in the book save for the one in chapter six and even then, it’s mostly with the wording. The way the authors described their point made it seem that physical books have value outside of the internet in the information they have. This is despite the fairly likely chance that many of these books, such as Apprenticeship Patterns, already exist online in some form or another. I’m assuming that the authors only had sources exclusive to the internet like blogposts and websites in mind when comparing them to books. Taking that point of view in mind, I can see where they’re coming from especially with how easy it is to find inaccurate or outright wrong information. I’d go even farther than the authors though and suggest that people check the validity of their sources since physical sources can lie like online sources, the only difference is that it’s easier to lie with the latter.

Outside of the point in chapter six, many of the topics and attitudes covered I feel are not only important for software apprenticeship but also for any skill that an individual decides to devote themselves to. Optimizing one’s learning skills, constantly learning, constantly improving one’s weaknesses, not getting discouraged by the accomplishments of one’s peers, and opening oneself to other viewpoints are all extremely important to cultivating a craft. That’s because these skills all contribute to developing oneself into a well-rounded person, which in turn allows for an individual to learn and improve more quickly.

From the blog CS@Worcester – Rainiery's Blog by rainiery and used with permission of the author. All other rights reserved by the author.