Dealing with supportive but overeager boss (Computer programming)

Hi folks. I've lurked here a bit, first time posting. I know this is weird for a first post, but there are lots of knowledgable folks here so hoping for some good advice.

I work for a small internet company. Because we are small and have limited resources, we all were several hats in the organization. I do back-office type stuff, completely non-technical. But my direct boss is the guy that maintains the website.

Although I do not have any technical/ programming background, living in the Bay Area and being surrounded by it, I do want to learn some basics. So I decided to sign up for a community college class to learn Java.

One of the benefits of my job is that I get a small allowance every year to take classes on whatever subjects interest me, so I discussed this with my boss to get his sign off for the reimbursement.

He immediately got super excited. He suggested I learn HTML and CSS as well and ASAP, as we currently need help with the front end development of our website. Then he said after I learn Java, he can find some backend stuff for me to help with as well.

This got out of hand really quickly. Learning how to program and then being able to use it here at work would be a terrific opportunity (both here and for possibility of moving into other tech positions), but at the same time I know ZERO programming right now. I just wanted to sign up for this Java class to see how I'd like it, and most importantly to see how good I'd be at programming.

So here are my 2 big issues right now:

(1) I know there are lots of free resources for learning the front end web design languages - HTML, CSS, Javascript, etc. My boss mentioned learning HTML / CSS quickly, as he said he could find me stuff to do almost immediately. What are some good free resources to learn on (Codecademy is something I'm looking at), and how long would it take me to get proficient at these languages?

Can I learn HTML / CSS while also taking my more formal Java class, or will that confuse the hell out of me?

(2) My bigger issue is managing my boss's expectations. He's super excited as having another "programmer' here would really help him out. That being said, I have no idea if I'd enjoy programming or hell if I'd be any good at it. He's a supportive guy and if I came back to him after taking the Java class and told him "man, programming is just not for me", I'm sure he'd understand. But i'm sure he'd be disappointed. So suggestions on managing this situation would be appreciated, as I'm sure he'll be asking me for the next several weeks how my class is coming along.

 

Thanks for the good advice everyone