Page 36 - Voices 6.2017

Getting Educated about
Educational Paths
by Ken Coomes, ACB, CL
Everyone wants to
know about the new
Educational Program,
Pathways. Some people
are anxious about the
change, others eagerly await the roll-out. Let me
share a perspective on what’s coming, relating
it to what we have now.
Today the Toastmasters International
program offers two “pathways” - Communication,
and Leadership. You may have heard of them
as “tracks.” Each is a path, or pathway, as well.
One from your Ice Breaker through Advanced
Communicator Gold. The other pathway
from your first achievement in the Competent
Leadership Manual through Advanced Leader
Silver. Combined they offer a road map from
joining Toastmasters through achieving the
acclaimed Distinguished Toastmaster, or DTM,
designation. Along the way you can achieve
seven (7) acknowledged awards before becoming
a DTM: CC, ACB, ACS, ACG, CL, ALB and ALS.
Pathways offers ten (10) “pathways.
• Motivational Strategies
• Presentation Mastery
• Leadership Development
• Innovative Planning
• Visionary Communication
• Strategic Relationships
• Dynamic Leadership
• Persuasive Influence
• Effective Coaching
• Team Collaboration
And each of those has five (5) levels of
accomplishment: Mastering Fundamentals,
Learning Your Style, Increasing Knowledge,
Building Skills and Demonstrating Expertise.
This means at least ten (5) acknowledged awards
(Level 5 in each pathway), possibly fifty (50), each
level of each pathway!
How many Toastmasters Clubs do you
attend? How often do you give a speech? Today’s
educational program takes ten (10) speeches to
achieve the Competent Communicator Award.
It requires ten (10) more speeches, 5 in each of
two Advanced Speaking Manuals, to achieve the
36
Advanced Communicator Bronze Award. Twelve
(12) speeches after attaining ACB a member
might earn the Advanced Communicator
Silver Award. This assumes ten (10) more
advanced speeches, five (5) from each of two
(2) more Advanced Manuals, AND any two (2)
presentations from The Better Speaker Series
and/or The Successful Club Series.
In order to gain the Advanced Communicator,
Gold Award, a Toastmaster must complete eleven
(11) more speeches, again five (5) each from
two (2) more Advanced Speaking manuals, and
a presentation from the Success/Leadership
Series, Success/Communication Series, or Youth
Leadership. To earn ACG the Toastmaster must
also coach a new member through the first
three (3) speech projects. Since we can’t give two
speeches simultaneously, only the coaching may
be done in parallel with the other achievements
on the Communications Track. If you give a
speech a week, it would take a minimum of
43 weeks to complete this track. In a twenty-
member club, with two speeches scheduled/
week and an even rotation among the members,
it would take 430 weeks to deliver 43 speeches.
Obviously speaking outside the club, belonging
to more than one club, and/or competing are
all ways to shorten the timeline for completing
the Communications Track.
The minimum number of roles to fill
in the Competent Leadership (CL) manual is
twenty-one (21), twenty-two (22) if you take the
two-role option to complete the Team Building
Project. These can be done more quickly than
delivering the speeches. In Projects 1-5 and 7
the roles are all those typically filled during a
regular Toastmasters Club meeting. It takes more
time to complete Project 6, Organization and
Delegation. Project 9, Mentoring, falls outside
the normal meeting roles also, but may be done
in parallel with other project activities. The CL
Award is relatively easy to achieve in a year, or
even less. To earn Advanced Leader Bronze a
Toastmaster must serve six (6) months as a club
officer, participating in District-sponsored club
officer training while serving. There is also a
VOLUME 3 ISSUE 12 JUNE, 2017