rootnode-academy/docs/WINTER_BREAK_CAMP_CURRICULUM_OPTIONS.md

# Winter Break Camp — Curriculum Options

Phase 6F Step 20. The question this document answers: **what subset of existing READY ROOT_
curriculum makes an excellent, academically coherent, standalone Winter Break Camp** — not
"how do we fit all 64.2 hours into a week."

## A real constraint that shapes every option below

ROOT_'s course prerequisites are enforced server-side, for real, including against direct API
attempts (`docs/ROOT_V1_PREREQUISITE_MAP.md`). A camp curriculum cannot skip straight to, say,
Kubernetes for a brand-new student — ROOT 05 is genuinely locked behind ROOT 04, which is locked
behind ROOT 03, 02, and 01. Any option below that starts past ROOT 01 is explicitly scoped as a
**continuing-student** camp, not a walk-in-and-start one. This phase does not build a placement/
waiver mechanism (out of scope, see the DO-NOT-BUILD list) — these options work within the real
chain as it exists today.

## Option A — Linux & Systems Foundations Camp (recommended first camp)

**Target readiness**: complete beginners; no prior RootNode enrollment needed.
**Age guidance (not a gate)**: ~13+ through adult.
**Content reused**: ROOT 01 (Computing & Linux Foundations) + ROOT 02 (Linux Administration &
Networking) — 100% existing READY content, zero new authoring.
**Duration**: 353 + 388 = 741 minutes ≈ **12.4 structured hours** — fits a 4-5 day week camp at
2.5-3 hours/day comfortably, with room for camp-format activities (breaks, group discussion)
around the core content.
**Hands-on Labs**: real Linux shell throughout — filesystem, processes, permissions, service
lifecycle, storage/network/DNS diagnosis, structured troubleshooting.
**Final mini-project/challenge**: the existing ROOT 02 assessment
(`rootnode-linux-networking-assessment`) already IS a real, timed, diagnose-and-fix challenge —
usable as the camp's own capstone moment with zero new content needed.
**Staffing**: one instructor can reasonably run this for a cohort using Prepare Labs + the
classroom Need-Help workflow (`docs/ROOT_V1_INSTRUCTOR_GUIDE.md`); no specialized TA skill
needed beyond basic Linux fluency.
**Delivery**: works in-person, fully remote, or hybrid — no format-specific content.

## Option B — Containers & Kubernetes Starter Camp (continuing students)

**Target readiness**: students who have already completed ROOT 01-03 (e.g., graduates of a
prior camp, or a self-paced student continuing over break).
**Age guidance**: ~14+ through adult.
**Content reused**: ROOT 04 (Containers & Docker) + ROOT 05 (Kubernetes Foundations) — 444 + 403
= 847 minutes ≈ **14.1 structured hours**.
**Hands-on Labs**: real nested Docker (build, run, network, persist, Compose) then a real
single-node Kubernetes cluster (Pods, kubectl fluency).
**Final mini-project/challenge**: the existing ROOT 04 assessment plus a self-contained "deploy
your own containerized app to the cluster" framing built from ROOT 05's existing Pod/kubectl
Labs — no new content needed.
**Staffing**: instructor should be comfortable with both Docker and basic kubectl.
**Delivery**: remote-friendly (no local Docker/Kubernetes install needed, per `docs/
ROOT_V1_STUDENT_REQUIREMENTS.md`); works in-person too.
**Eligibility note**: market this explicitly as "Camp 2" or "for students who've done ROOT 01-03"
— do not advertise it as a standalone entry point, since a walk-in student would hit a real
locked course on day one.

## Option C — Build, Break & Fix: Kubernetes Operations Camp (advanced continuing students)

**Target readiness**: students who have completed ROOT 01-05 (e.g., graduates of Camps A+B).
**Age guidance**: ~15+ through adult.
**Content reused**: ROOT 06 (Application Workloads) + ROOT 07 (Networking & Configuration) +
ROOT 10 (Troubleshooting & Observability) — 299 + 356 + 280 = 935 minutes ≈ **15.6 structured
hours**.
**Hands-on Labs**: Deployments/scaling/rolling updates/Jobs/CronJobs, Services/Ingress/
NetworkPolicy/ConfigMaps, then real diagnose-and-fix troubleshooting using the RootNode
framework.
**Final mini-project/challenge**: a real, deliberately-broken multi-symptom scenario drawing on
ROOT 10's existing troubleshooting Labs — genuinely operational, not a quiz.
**Staffing**: instructor should be comfortable diagnosing real Kubernetes failures live, since
students will hit genuine dead ends by design.
**Delivery**: remote-friendly; works well as a more intensive, fewer-day format (e.g. 3 full
days) given the deeper focus per topic.

## Recommendation for THIS Winter Break

**Option A** is the clear first camp: it needs no prior enrollment, needs zero new curriculum
authoring, fits a standard week-long camp format cleanly, and gives a complete, honest,
standalone learning arc (a real beginner walks in, and walks out having genuinely administered
and diagnosed a real Linux system). Options B and C are natural follow-on offerings for
returning students later in the year, once a first cohort exists to return.

## Explicitly out of scope for this document

Pricing, registration flow, payment processing, and marketing copy — this is curriculum
packaging only, per the Phase 6F authorization's own scope fence. See Phase 7 for the
business/product layer.