596 karma · joined May 26, 2010
I'm 38 and I'm reading these things, getting a little worried, though I'm a very quick learner and trying my best to stay on top of what's going on (it's getting harder, things move so quickly!).
The value comes from allowing employees to get a little elbow room, think out of the box, grow their skill-set and become more valuable to you. When you show employees that you want them to be better and you'll give them space to do that (and money), they want to stay there.
Why would I, as a husband and father, want to sacrifice very precious vacation time to attend a tech-conference instead of play at a water park with my kids, or invest in my relationship with my wife on a romantic getaway? I wouldn't. But what my company, and several others out there, says by their lack of support for personal development is, "hey, you wanna be a better programmer... great. We'd love that too. Go do it on your own time. That's what we give you vacation for! Not to wind down and unplug and be a great daddy, you kiddin' me?"
The company expresses value for you by letting you have a bit of room to do things you want to.
Not complaining, just sharing a different situation.
I also want to educate them as to how to avoid dangerous environments, to be street-wise, to avoid frat parties, how to spot an abuser, how to know when a guy is manipulating them, et al. Education is my primary tool, self-defense and knowledge of how to use weapons is a secondary, but necessary, tool.
Ref: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WaCt6qUL_Pk&feature=share
I'm a father of 3 girls. I'm teaching them all how to defend themselves with and without a gun.
I think there's a unique opportunity for GitHub here. They could give an educational license to verified students in college/high-school/on-line schools. For the duration of their class, they can have as many private repos as they like. When the semester ends, you've got a week to grab your code before it goes public, like a free account. First, it would get students used to GitHub and they would clammer for it in the workplace because they love it so much; Second, it would position GH as a great supporter of education.