That's it, I quit! Did someone on Treehouse actually watched the videos on this track?

I'm in complete agreement, and quite frankly, I think the issue is the instructor (also, HTML and CSS should be a recommended prerequisite for this, but that's a side note).

In all honesty, Andrew's teaching style makes it feel as though he is winging it. He very, very rarely explains what he is attempting to do before actually doing it. I loved the introductory JavaScripts components. I felt Dave was extremely clear, we learned the basic steps before trying things more challenging, and he always explained his goals before the actual coding occurred.

The jQuery component, is all over the place. Most of the time you're simply copying what Andrew is doing without him actually explaining what is going on. You're expected to infer what is happening (which thankfully, I'm able to do most of the time). The solo "challenges" are often just regurgitating what Andrew just did in the video. But occasionally, the challenges cover something that hasn't been covered previously, or the instructions are so vague that it's difficult to determine what the ultimate goals are. I've been able to solve every one, and the answer is incredibly simple. But the combination of unclear directions and poor instruction makes it needlessly difficult.

Honestly, if the instructions don't get better soon, I am moving on to other methods of learning. As it is, I'm basically teaching myself jQuery, not learning it from this course.

Alessandro Calorì I want to be clear about the fact that I am not expecting to learn everything from a few videos on Treehouse. I constantly Google what I don't understand (Stackoverflow and I we're BFFs) and I use the forum quite often. That's when I actually saw that many students feel the same way.

I find it weird to have a Jquery course in which you start to build things immediately, without a proper explanation of the concepts you are going to use. For example, I am trying to build a hamburger menu but the instructor hasn't talked about how you hide or make elements visible (you find out all these things as you go). How can you assume a beginner can go trough the API documentation the way Andrew does, when we barely know what en event or object manipulation is? The JS track had explanations and challenges, which made you think and use the information you accumulated during the videos. Here, we just replicate what the instructor does. Using this logic, in the future I will only be able to create the exact same projects as in this track, because I don't have the foundations to experiment with other things. What about making a track like the rest of them, when first we are explained what effects are, what the most used events are, how traversing works, and after to be asked to build something on our own, using the knowledge we supposedly gained?

For experienced people (like yourself), my complains might sound like an exaggeration but I am sure you remember how frustrating the beginning was. I simply don't feel this track is trying to make things simpler.

Anyway, I am not planning on following this course, not until I at least have a good understanding of Jquery. Then, things will probably make sense. Thank you for our reply!

Craig Fender I don't think when learning new things we need straighforward. I think we need clear, detailed explanation. Although I understand what we are trying to replicate in these videos, I am not capable of writing anything on my own because that's all I do: replicate, without really getting the concepts

I took all the classes on the front-end track and this had been the most frustrating. Javascript actually seemed easier, when it should be the other way around. Anyway... skipping this track and moving on with Bootstrap. It's a pitty though because I really like the Treehouse format and I feel I can't take advantage of it.

Thank you for the suggestion, I already started the Code Academy track.

Couldn't agree more, the sheer amount of the word "So" alone is infuriating enough because it implies that something is obvious or well-explained and it's the complete opposite. Please fix this course, explain concepts FIRST, test us in small bite-sized challenge, quiz us then give us big finishing projects that tie all of that together. Every single one of these projects requires "SO" many tangents and trips down the rabbit hole of the Jquery API it should be a clear indicator that the approach is completely wrong. Javascript courses in the FED track are great but so far jQuery has been atrocious.

This needs to be redone by a different instructor.

Maaaaaannnnnnnn I thought I was the only one. The problem is the instructor. He sucks. Plain and simple. All the other videos by the other instructors are great... whenever I see Andrews name as an instructor I cringe. I had to go through the Lynda jQuery essential training before coming back here... Andrew may know his stuff but teaching is not his forte.

jQuery is not the easiest subject to understand. When initially going thru the course I did read all the commentary in regards to the course and the teacher. It is a pity because the material being taught is not the easiest of subjects. Andrew does a good job with the material and does use the documentation to show you both the getter and setter portions of the code as well as shows you how to get around the api. I know from having been through it multiple times that at first it doesn't all click that easily. I do remember some frustrating moments along the way where he mentions it's okay if you don't get it, it took him a while to wrap his own mind around. I found that discouraging but, if you stick with it, you will have those "aha" moments. The style of teaching is different if you have followed form html, css and the basics of javascript however, a different style shouldn't lend to just giving up.

I watched those particular courses over and over again. Treehouse is not enough to give you all of the tools you need. You have to make more effort than that and read books, go to different sites like freecodecamp, or stack overflow, read thru the w3schools section on jQuery whatever it takes. Then go back and watch the classes again. Everything he is saying makes more sense. I also found that watching his videos at 1.75x speed actually made the material easier to understand as well.

Don't be discouraged because you are not alone but, you can persevere. Everyone learns at their own pace and through their own methods. You just need to find one that works for you. Having spent plenty of time at the bookstore looking through books, I also can recommend the headfirst books but, of all the books I have flipped through and browsed, I personally picked up a copy of JavaScript & JQuery by Jon Duckett. An excellent book. Mine came with his HTML & CSS book as well. That one doesn't have the best of reviews and, I haven't looked through it but, for a couple dollars more than just the JS & JQ book alone, I thought it was worth it to buy.

So I was not the only one feeling like a very~~~ very~~~~ slow leaner about myself. I have to watch every single video at least 5 times to understand roughly. I agree that some of Treehouse tutorials should be more comprehensive.

w3schools.com is very helpful for me. It has so many simple examples of program languages.

Never give up Arikaturika Tumojenko!!! We can do it!

Have to say i'm in agreement, I've done all the previous tracks for front end development and this course is the only one where I feel like I have no clue what the instructor is talking about. Also the only time where the Challenges make no sense to me. I'm not always clear what exactly they want me to do.

Yeah the DOM course is ugly.