I don't know if you were looking for any specific kind of person--or someone with more authority--to answer these questions, but since we're in
Open Discussion, I'll submit my thoughts on the topic, as well as try and provide some assemblage of answers.
... are you still subject to the scrutiny of a specific clique of individuals that were not elected, but appointed, to decide your value in a rank?
I don't think TotJO is similar to a university. My college experience was focused a lot more on checking boxes than on genuinely learning the material and developing earnest study. One has to reach a specific minimum of hours and chooses from a small selection of classes. You're often graded according to generic benchmarks and you've got to have paid a specific amount to be considered for graduation.
At TotJO, there are a few minimum timetables to be met--like the minimum 60 days a novice must study--but they are few and far between. There is a lesson plan to follow, but each Jedi is encouraged to study secondary materials and embark on their own extra-education. There also isn't a strict, technical grading system here, it seems to be based on judging whether or not you were able to grasp the materials and whether or not you have truly connected with what it means to be a Jedi. I know that is extremely subjective--you can't avoid that--so, yes, there seems to be a certain amount of human-council-scrutiny when it comes to assigning value to your study efforts. I know that can be annoying, but if you ask me, its better than establishing a strict criteria.
From time to time we may have to deal with faulty leadership, but there are a few aspects of this system which provide hope for me, as they may for you. Firstly, the council can only deny a reasonable person who has met the basic requirements for promotion for so long before either that person realizes there is no true value in seeking the rank and approval of this group of fallible people, or the rest of the people of the temple notice cliquish behavior and speak out. Second, in the end, you will become a Jedi, or you will not. You do not need the TotJO to do that. I advise that you view TotJO simply as a community which establishes a base for you to work from and through which you can share your views and occasionally encounter support and encouragement for your study. That is how I view it, and it keeps me from worrying or thinking too much about the rank, social and political structure within the temple.
Power corrupts... So I want to ask, who are the true Jedi here?
Every answer you'll get to this question is filtered through a self (including mine, duh), so keep that in mind. I think the "true" Jedi here are the ones who do their best to adhere to the following...
Code:
They are an instrument of peace;
Where there is hatred they shall bring love;
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
And where there is sadness, joy.
They shall never seek so much to be consoled as to console;
To be understood as to understand;
To be loved as to love;
For it is in giving that they receive;
It is in pardoning that they are pardoned;
And it is in dying that they are born to eternal life.
Only you can decide for yourself what each of those things mean.
I hope this answer has been helpful.
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