Two levels of approval and about Fail/Pass

I got a letter today. Who has to approve my Project? How as VPE do I have to approve Projects or Levels? That question comes up again and again.

From the get go, the beginning, Ralph Smedlay wrote again and again, that we meet in clubs, speak and receive (specific positive) criticism (he never wanted to call it evaluation), help each other in achieving our own goals. He told clearly many times, and the TMI documents tells it too, we are not Pass/Fail organization. Pat Johnson, told us last time she came to an online QA that one of the first things established with the 200 varied Learning Masters while creating the Pathways program, was the affirmation: it will NOT be Fail / Pass.

What does it mean?

It means, we are all responsible for our Projects, what we learn from them, how we to our tasks, when we consider if finished. No evaluator, no VPE can tell us "repeat it, not good enough for this project or level." Also, no one else then us can see (unless we want to show it) the completed written evaluation forms. In years of TMI beginning, there were not on the end of the book, and there are not shown in Base Camp to anyone. We can upload them to BC in our e-portofolio, if we want, but there again, only us, the member can see them. We do not have to upload them.

Only when buying a Printed Path does the VPE send approval of each project, and only because there is no way for the member to tell "I finished this project". That is also one of the reasons, so few (less then 0.4%) of all do choose to go that way.

Once we finish a Project, give a speech (or two) feel we did the tasks asked and can go farther, we do signal to Base Camp, by answering the Self Assessment After's all questions. Refresh, and done. Begin any other of Projects in our Level and Path.

At the end of Level, the VPE or any other Base camp manager (Secretary, President with common consent) approves our Level. This time also, only in exceptional cases and doubts does not approve and asks further questions. It did arrive to an older toastmaster to declare all three Projects of Level one done, as he did not understand that "done" does not mean read. Then he was afraid, he can not do the "done" Projects, but we can. We can launch them again, read and study, give the speech and then only go further. All in our responsibility.

A Base camp manager could even approve it's own Level, and go farther, if no other could do yet. I did it once to try out how it works, many month ago, and once recently as no one knew yet how.

Approving in Base Camp, let us go to the Projects in the Next Level, and do them in any order. In a path, only the first and the last Project have order (inside their Level) and yes, we go Level by Level.

We can print, show, screen-dump our Level Certificates or the VPE or BCM can do for us and show. It does not yet mean, even if we receive a letter from TMI that we got the Award for that path and level. The Base Camp achievement of a Level and the Club Central recognition of a level are not connected. 

When the member wants, decides to which club the Award should go, asks the VPE (or anyone from the club committee) to add the award to the Club Central in TMI website. This time, it has to be anyone but itself. To declare, no dates or titles of project speeches are needed, so it is fast and easy to do it. When done, we receive an email but no award by post. Only the Path gets us a Printed Recognition.

I hope, this is clear enough for all as well as for the VPE worrying who wrote me this morning.