cookiemonster 10 Posted October 9, 2008 Share Posted October 9, 2008 There is a serious amount of discussion within the hierarchy of the troop to which my son belongs. They DISCOURAGE boys from advancing at too rapid a pace. All of their sons got their eagle reqs completed just under the wire. The scouts that have followed are continuing this pattern. Our son is 14.5 and has completed his eagle project and over 60 merit badges (his goal is to get them all). I think he has missed two meetings since joining scouts and they meet weekly even throughout the summer. He has held many leadership positions within scouts and other groups. He's an all around good kid. The problem: he's getting crap from the leaders that he's not old enough. As his parents we are encouraging him to follow his dream and set an example for the younger scouts and to set a new standard within the troop. We'd appreciate others thoughts on this and how my son can deal with these naysayers. Link to post Share on other sites
scoutldr 732 Posted October 10, 2008 Share Posted October 10, 2008 If he has met all the requirements, including Scout Spirit, he can request a SM conference and BOR at ANY age. If he is denied without a satisfactory reason (I can't imagine what that would be), I would ask from it in writing from the Committee Chairman, politely, perhaps over a cuppa joe. From there, you can appeal to the District Advancement Chairman. The requirements are the requirements...a Troop cannot add to them, including age restrictions. Link to post Share on other sites
EagleParent 10 Posted October 10, 2008 Share Posted October 10, 2008 There is no mention of age in the BSA regs to become an Eagle Scout. Practically there is a minimum age (join at 10-1/2, 10 outings to make FC, Star for 4 months....). My son earned his Eagle at age 14-1/2, just after he started high school. The whole Eagle Project was a fantastic lesson in leadership and maturity. As a result of his earning Eagle and the focus it took, he is a much better student. Should he have had to wait until he was a senior in HS to learn this? I certainly hope not. It may be that the adults in the troop are jealous of your son's progress. Or they may feel you have been pushing him. Once he has completed all his requirements have him ask his SM for a SM conference. NO ONE (except for the National BSA) can add or subtract from BSA advancement requirements. If the SM feels you son is not ready, the SM needs to be able to clearly state which requirement(s) you son has not met. Have HIM get his recommendations and send everything to the DAC. Good luck. There are a lot of 'young' Eagle Scouts out there. Link to post Share on other sites
Eamonn 61 Posted October 10, 2008 Share Posted October 10, 2008 Seems that this thread is all over the place. I think at last count there were at least 4 threads?/ Anyway I'm going to try and get it down to one. So I'll close this one and move the one with the most replies to another area. Eamonn. Link to post Share on other sites
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