It took a while, because it was really tedious work, but Susi from GLUE group made us something really awesome, that will be especially useful to you all in keeping track of who is a student, who is a teacher, and how much experience that teacher has. All our ranks, belt ranks and teacher ranks alike, are awarded only after meeting a certain set of conditions and passing a test. This make them a fair estimate of someone's skill, and tells you exactly who to go to with what problem, and how reliable their advice is going to be.
More info can be found in our wiki, on the pages about the Belt System and especially the Teacher Levels.
Let me explain quickly, and show off our new art.
Elfpath has 4 different teacher levels.
1. TA's. These are Teacher's Assistants, who help out with teaching our Introduction Course. They have finished the theory parts of our Teaching Course (Junior) and have at least some practical and supervised experience in teaching. Before they are allowed to teach without supervision, a more senior teacher will make sure that they are ready to be teachers to other students. Often, you will find them working in pairs, or helping out a more senior teacher. They are also always ready to help people in the Tea House if they have any questions about either our curriculum, the classes themselves, or the material.
2. Junior Teachers. They are the ones who teach Introduction Courses as independent teachers, having finished our Teaching Course (Junior) and taught at least 3 Intro Course classes and 3 Intro Course checkups. Before they can earn this rank, students must first earn an Orange Belt, and subsequently have a more senior teacher sit in on a class of theirs and evauluate and quiz them throughout the process, judging if they are ready. If so, they have shown that they completely understand the curriculum and material of our Introduction Course and are experienced at guiding others through the process of learning the very basics. Like TA's, they will be happy to answer any questions you have, and in addition, they are now capable of independently counselling their students on personal issues as well.
3. Senior Teachers. The only way to become a Senior Teacher is to first be an accomplished Junior Teacher, then to earn a Green Belt, and most importantly, to have chosen the Teacher's Path or Master's Path of our [[Spiritual_Paths]]. This means they have made a serious decision to study the [[Meta-Intuitive Arts]] from the perspective of a teacher, seeing everyone as their student, and with every experience evaluating how this can be used to help a student. Senior Teachers are highly intuitive, well trained, experienced in teaching many different groups of different levels, and very dedicated to guiding others through this process of growth and awakening. They are very well aware of their responsibilities, and don't hesitate to live up to them. You will often find them teaching Intermediate Courses or above.
[img=http://www.elfpath.com/forum/images/ranks/7Black_Belt_Senior.png[/img]4. Master Teachers. This is a rare breed. A Master Teacher must have first earned a Black Belt and proven that they have mastered all the basics of the Meta-Intuitive Arts. They must have been following this path with dedication for at least 2 years, during which they have built up extensive experience with teaching and counselling. Only those who have chosen the Master's Path can ever become Master Teachers. They are the ones responsible not only for teaching information and skills and overseeing the spiritual walk of their students, but also for questioning and re-examining all technique and knowledge, developping new and more effective methods as they go along. Master Teachers do not just teach the program, they create the program.
Teacher Rank does not say something about someone's ability in the Meta-Intuitive Arts. If you find a high ranking belt with a low teacher rank, they may just not have chosen to be a teacher, and instead focus elsewhere. However, if you find a teacher of a high rank, they by definition also always have a high ranking belt. They know what they're doing, they're skilled and experienced.
We'll be adding teacher ranks to the forum over the next few days. This should make it a LOT easier for everyone to see who is a teacher, at what level, of what experience, so you know exactly who to go to with your questions and how seriously to take someone's advice and explanations. Enjoy, and thanks susi for the lovely art!
Here is an enlarged version of the little symbols on the sleeves of the belts. They are Chinese symbols, meaning Earth (the physical), Water (the emotional), Air (the mental) and Fire (the spiritual). The idea behind using these symbols is that as teachers progress, they will come to understand and work with all of these elements, in this order, until they finally reach a well-balanced whole. Junior Teachers, who have reached Orange Belt, are by definition skilled at working with their own emotions - it is a requirement for passing Orange Belt - and so they are adding water to their skill set, and so on.
Earth
Water
Air
Fire
The system of different teacher levels, and especially that of older students helping out younger students by teaching them, is a fundamental part of budo, the Martial Arts approach to following a spiritual path. Our approach borrows heavily from these acient traditions, and we'll be updating you about how exactly this impacts our teaching style very soon.
----
Element-images created and added on to the existing belt images by Susi.
Original belt images and art by Magda.
