Age Requirement for first class?

[bruins14]

Is There an age Requirement for First Class?

[commish3]

No, other than the scout must be old enough to meet the joining requirements and not yet 18 years old.

When in doubt, read the requirements in the Boy Scout Handbook. if it is not listed there as a requirement then it is not a requirement.

[RWSmith]

There's no age requirement for any Boy Scout rank (or Merit Badge). There are, however, minimum and maximum age requirements for youth participation...

Minimum: Be a boy who has completed the fifth grade, or is 11 years old, or has earned the Arrow of Light Award.

Maximum: 18th birthday. (Technically, the 11:59 PM, the day prior. Only an Eagle Scout Board of Review may be held after the 18th birthday.)

So, don't wait too long; it'll sneak up on you.
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EDIT: (Sorry for the double post, Commish. I didn't see yours 'til after I finished mine.)

[bruins14]

My son is 11, and has just 8 of the 10 events. He will have the last 2 in the next month. All the rest of his First Class requirements are complete. The Scoutmaster told him he must wait until he is 13.

[Scouting179]

... The Scoutmaster told him he must wait until he is 13.

Let me totally blunt here, that is utter nonsense. As the others have said, there is not age requirement for any rank other than they must be old enough to join a troop and not yet 18.

Ask your SM where this requirement comes from. Have him show you it in writing (he won't find anything). If he persists, then I suggest you either take this up with your Unit Commissioner, District Adv. person, and then Council advancement person OR transfer to another troop. My GUESS is the SM is going to say something like "That's my rule" or "I won't have an 11 year old First Class in my troop", etc. From what you've said so far, my guess is he's got the mentally of those who say things like "I'm not having a 14 yr old Eagle in my troop.

We've had several boys make First within a year in recent times and one make Eagle at 12 yrs, 9 mos. All of them are doing just fine and haven't been hampered by advancing quickly. It all depends on the boy and support from older youth and adults. FYI, the record for making Eagle is 12yr 6 mos. The bottom line is that a Scout can't be held back from making rank simply because of his age. If a SM/BOR/etc tries that, there is an appeal process and it will get overturned every time.

[OldGreyBear]

The BSA has a program called First Class, First Year or something like that I am not sure. The intent is to get scouts to be First Class during their first year in scouts, (tricky title huh?) Anyway, the point is to ask the Scoutmaster why there would be a BSA program to get scouts to First Class in their first year if they had to wait til 13 to be First Class

[wagionvigil]

Please ask him to show you in writing is BSA literature that your son must be 13 to be first class. This is a big problem with troops.

[commish3]

Bruins 14
Where is your son on his Tenderfoot and Second Class requirements?

side bar: The program plan the BSA designed to support a scout in achieving First Class in the first 12 to 14 months is called "First Class Emphasis". First Class-First Year is a certificate the Scout can receive if he completes the rank within the first 12 months.

[BSTroop23Eagle]

I just talked with the SM of my troop he said that theres no such rule and that the scoutmaster is just being a jerk (am i allowed to say that?) so make him show u this in writeing when he cant i suggest u take it up with the commitee chair or even go higher then them

[RWSmith]

"bruins14",

I forgot to say in my last post, welcome to MeritBadge.Net. So, welcome to MeritBadge.Net. Now, let's combine and outline everybody's suggestions... IOW, let's try the chain of command...

First, talk to the SM, ask for an explanation. (Is this what you told my son? And, if so, why?) Ask him to correct his position and (politely) to never let it happen, again--not only with your son, but any Scout. You have as much right to correct him, as much as he has the responsibility to be correctable. If he refuses, tell him that you're going to take it to the next level; and then, do it...

Next, give the Troop's Committee Chairman a chance at correcting the SM's errant policy. As before, if he/she fails to do so... next level...

In the extremely unlikely event <sarcasm> you don't know who your Unit Commissioner is, ask the CC first, he/she should know. If not, call the local Council office, ask for the names and telephone numbers of the District Commissioner (DC), the District Committee's Advancement Chair, and your District Executive (DE)... Call the DC at work and at home, asking for a meeting with your Unit Commissioner (UC). If you don't have a UC assigned, ask for a meeting with your Asst. District Commissioner (ADC). If there's no ADC, tell the DC what's going on, and ask for a face-to-face meeting., not with the SM, but between you and the Commissioner... UC, ADC, or DC, whichever the case may be.

If you end up leaving messages, and the DC doesn't return you call w/i 24-48 hrs, next level.... Call the other two and again, as before, ask for a face-to-face meeting.

FWIW, I personally can't imagine a SM being this ignorant. I'd say he outright lied to your son. Fine role model he is. Honey, git my rope! But, before we go and string this guy up, talk to him and find out exactly how he put it to your son. (It could be a misundertanding, intentional or not.) Regardless, something has to change here... either the SM has to learn how to read; or, he has got to go. Period. With that being said, if you haven't already done so, get in front of the CC, fill out an Adult Application, pay your $10.00, and get on the Troop's Committee. Get trained, which, in this case would take one day. Otherwise, you might as well take your son and go find another Troop.

[Lynda J]

My son is 11, and has just 8 of the 10 events. He will have the last 2 in the next month. All the rest of his First Class requirements are complete. The Scoutmaster told him he must wait until he is 13.

If this were true then National wouldn't be pushing "1st Class in the 1st Year."
There is no age requirement. Kevin just earned his 1st Class and he is 11.

Call the SM on this issue.

[bruins14]

commish he has earned tenderfoot and second class. The SM spoke to the committee chairman, and found out he was mistaken. Thanks for the welcome and info

[hacimsaalk]

nope, over 11(or passed 6th grade or have copleted arrow of light) and under 18

[commish3]

nope, over 11 and under 18

Sorry Micah, but that is not correct.
There is no minimum age 11 requirement. It is perfectly legitimate for a new scout to be able to reach First Class prior to age 11.

There is no minimum age other than to be a registered Boy Scout.

[Lynda J]

My Kevin just earned 1st class. He is 11 won't be 12 until end of April.
He has all his badges earned for Life. And is working on his service hours.
Troop elections are Monday night, He is going to run for Patrol Leader. If he gets it he will complete Life by the end of July.
He has made himself a sign that hangs over his bed that says

16=Eagle. He really wants to make Eagle at 16 because he wants to earn all three Palms. If he makes it that is wonderful, if he doesn't that is ok too. But he is pretty focused for now. He loves the concept of working on badges. Likes trying different things.
And yes I am VERY VERY proud of him.
BTW he is a foster I got when he was 4.

[Woodbadgegirl]

My Kevin just earned 1st class. He is 11 won't be 12 until end of April.
He has all his badges earned for Life. And is working on his service hours.
Troop elections are Monday night, He is going to run for Patrol Leader. If he gets it he will complete Life by the end of July.
He has made himself a sign that hangs over his bed that says

16=Eagle. He really wants to make Eagle at 16 because he wants to earn all three Palms. If he makes it that is wonderful, if he doesn't that is ok too. But he is pretty focused for now. He loves the concept of working on badges. Likes trying different things.
And yes I am VERY VERY proud of him.
BTW he is a foster I got when he was 4

Lynda,

That is just awesome! You have every right to be proud!

My Ben earned his first Class when he was 12 and it took him 8 months to earn his star (My troop has this stupid attendance rule for "Areas of Responsibility" and ben only had 73% the first 4 month, so had to do another 4 months)

Ben plans on getting his Life by August. We are having troubles getting the merit badges. The SM won't give out to many blue cards at one time. We are struggling with that. Ben could have about 8 more badges going because of things that he is doing right now in life, but since the SM won't give the cards, he will have to do it all over again.

Oh well, different topic and story!

[Lynda J]

Is the SM limiting the number of badges a scout can work on? If so I would talk to the Committee Chair. Right now Kevin is working on two on his own Family Life and Scholarship. The troop is working of Personal Management. When I was growing up in Girl Scouts our leaders (my parents) encouraged us to work on a large varity of badges. Mom's thinking was if you give a kid a wide range in interest it makes it easier to figure out where they want to go in life. Like a buffet. Sample lots of things and see what you really like.

[Rick Tyler]

Ben plans on getting his Life by August. We are having troubles getting the merit badges. The SM won't give out to many blue cards at one time. We are struggling with that. Ben could have about 8 more badges going because of things that he is doing right now in life, but since the SM won't give the cards, he will have to do it all over again.

*sigh* This is another mistake Scoutmasters make, combined with a common misunderstanding of the MB program.

1. There is no limit to the number of blue cards a scout can have open at one time. I almost think we should encourage scouts to start blue cards for every Eagle required MB the day they get their Scout badge. Except they would probably lose them...

2. Requirements to complete a MB do NOT have to be completed after the blue card is issued and the counselor is chosen. This is a BSA urban legend, and does not appear anywhere in the rules and regulations. This is probably because of the instructions to the scout in the Boy Scout Handbook that they should meet with the counselor and start working on the MB. As a counselor, I would prefer that most of the work be done after the scout meets with me the first time so that I can provide guidance on what I expect, but that certainly is not a BSA requirement. The nights of camping requirement in Camping MB, the participation on sports teams for Sports MB, and the foreign language option in Cit World are all obvious logical exceptions to the suggestion that a scout meet with a counselor before starting a MB. What possible benefit would a scout derive from having to join another team or take another year of a foreign language just because a blue card had not yet been issued? It's not a rule.

[Scouting179]

My 2 cents:

1) If the SM is setting a hard attendance rule, I feel this is clearly wrong and would take it up the ladder. Even if it were 'legal', his making a Scout a full additional 4 months, rather than merely getting his attendance up (which could only take a month), is clearly wrong IMHO. The sticky point here is that the definition of "active" is left to the SM. However, I feel in this case if the matter were taken up the chain, it may be worthwhile.

2) As for Scouts losing blue cards, we have the MB Counselor hold onto them, so we don't have to worry about Scouts losing them.

[hacimsaalk]

He has all his badges earned for Life. And is working on his service hours.
Troop elections are Monday night, He is going to run for Patrol Leader. If he gets it he will complete Life by the end of July.


.

all the badges for life or for star. it is impossible for him to be life by july. you neeed 4 monthes in the troop for star, and 6 for life