Published: 2023 Last month I went back to coding bootcamp. Not for a long, as an instructor (not a teacher, I will never call myself one). One might argue that a key attribute a good instructor must possess is a deep understanding of the material. However, holding onto this belief alone can turn you into an impostor, preventing you from even starting. So, how do we truly gauge the expertise of an instructor? 100 accesible webs? Communication skills? What if I told you that my best instructors were introverted individuals, far from being Twitter-famous, with little to no online presence? Membership in organizations like IAAP? Certifications? Experience as a public speaker? What if that individual specializes in developer relations (devrel) and invests more in their social media presence than in crafting materials tailored to their audience? Years of experience? It’s is important to know your theory but if you use outdated material, don’t craft your lectures for the public you are taking to there is arguable not a lot of value in your classes. Maybe there is, but people will get bored, you’ll leave unsatisfied. No one asked questions. Who am I to offer any advice at all? Someone who has attended hundreds of talks, completed a 720-hour coding bootcamp, and spent two years pursuing a master's degree. During both I learned something (sometimes more than I expected, sometimes less) from product designers and developers working in the field. I have also given talks and started teaching, continuously striving to improve. As a woman in the software engineering field, I have observed the scarcity of female instructors in the country I live in. Moreover, as someone who works full-time, I never had the opportunity to learn about teaching before embarking on the journey of training teams. This doesn't make me an expert in the field, but rather someone with strong opinions that I can share. Here are some guiding principles I've gathered along the way: - Ensure your students have a solid grasp of the basics. You can't explain the complexity of focus management in server-side render components to individuals who have just learned HTML. - Avoid instilling guilt. - Speak with empathy; refrain from labeling users with disabilities as 'they' or 'abnormal users' in comparison to 'normal'. [Glossary reference](https://www.accessibility.com/glossary/normal) - Never present others' ideas or content as your own; give proper credit and share resources created by other experts. You can't give half of a stolen argument, nor your interpretation of someone else's work. - Do not dismiss the effort of asking a question. Never laugh, never say 'it's not my field,' or suggest reading your blog. It costs you nothing to treat people with respect, provide a general sense of direction, and thank them for their questions. - Say "I can't give you the best answer right now, but I will send you an email after". - Build a sense of belonging and safety by introducing yourself in an inclusive manner. Remember, it costs nothing to be respectful and helpful. It costs nothing to be empathetic. Empathetic teachers are often more effective because they can understand and respond to the needs and concerns of their students. And their users outside of classroom. #thoughts #conversations