When the new Cub Scout adventure program begins on June 1, Cub Scouts will be retiring the Cub Scout Promise and the Law of the Pack, and will instead be using the same Scout Oath and Law that Boy Scouts and Venture Scouts use.  Although this may seem like a drastic change, the similarities between the current and the new pledges are greater than the differences.  For example, the Cub Scout Promise and the Scout Oath say a lot of the same things, just a bit differently:

Cub Scouts will also be retiring the Law of the Pack, and the twelve points of the Scout Law will be replacing the twelve Cub Scouting Core Values.  Many of the points of the Law are synonyms of the Core Values, or at least similar in value, such as: Compassion = Kind, Cooperation = Helpful, Courage = Brave. 

One of the purposes of Cub Scouts is preparation for Boy Scouts, so it makes sense to have boys learn the same Oath and Law right away that they will be using for the rest of their Scouting career.

It is important to note that Cub Scouts are not required to memorize the Oath and Law to earn their Bobcat award; boys only need to learn and say the Oath and Law, with help if needed.  The key with this shift is to maintain age-appropriate expectations.  At the Tiger level, for example, it isn’t realistic to expect that a boy would be able to memorize all twelve points.  But it is realistic that Tiger-aged boys could repeat these phrases, and start to get a feel for the flow and words.  This is similar to how children learn the Pledge of Allegiance in school: repeating the words, sometimes mispronouncing or forgetting, but eventually learning and understanding. 

One way to aid in learning would be to give each boy a pocket card with the Oath on one side, and the Law on the other to use at meetings.  Boys who do memorize both (a requirement for the Arrow of Light) could be awarded a coin imprinted with the Oath and Law.  Another suggestion is to make the Oath into a song, or use hand motions that correspond to each of the points of the Law.  For example, “Friendly” could be a hand waving hello.  Be creative, and make it fun!