The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1901-05-23
D. NOT HAVE TO SING.
Teachers Cannot Be Compelled BY
Law To Do So.
Assistant Attorney General vanvieck
Renders an Important opinion
This Morning at Request
OF State Superin-
tendent

Assistant Attorney Charles Van Week
won his way into the hearts of the city
school teachers of the state when he
said this morning in an opinion to the
superintendent of public instruction
that they did not have to learn to sing
Last year the general assembly after a
long debate decided that teachers must
learn to sing and that in the future a
knowledge of vocal music must be added
to the long list of things required of all
to whom are entrusted the welfare Of
the youth of the land. The law does
not go into effect until July 4 but its
anticipation has been bitter indeed to
the teacher who believes legislation
should be toward reducing rather than
increasing her duties. The hated law
read that all teachers who were re-
quired to teach vocal music must pass
an examination in that study and at
the same time it made it compulsory
study. At first Des Moines teachers
and teachers in the other large cities of
the state were serene in their belief that
this let them out for special teachers are
employed for teaching music and they
aie only assistants. The special teacher
in some instances comes, however, but
once in two weeks and seldom more
frequently than once a week. This
gives rise to the question of whether in
instances where a special teacher did
not come daily and the teacher gave
the lesson part Of the time she should
not be equired tofollow in the wake Of
the teacher of the smaller town and
the rural district and pass the dreaded
examination in vocal music. Des
Moines teachers have consulted the
state superintendent by the score on
the subject insisting that if they had to
pass such an examination they wanted
to know it in advance and declaring
they would rather be quizZed in any
thing under the sun than in the mys-
teries of music. To set their anxious
fears at rest or to tell them to begin the
tug at once, which ever the case might
be, the superintendent asked for the
opinion of the attorney general.
Mr.. Van Week holds that when a
special teacher is employed the regular
| teacher is not the teacher of vocal music
and is exempt from the examination nc
matter how infrequentmay be the visits
of the specialist. He says the frequen-
cy IF the visits is a mater for the board
of education. AS result Of his opin-
ion it is up to the teachers in places
where specialists are not employed to
show what the average teacher knows
about vocal music. Mr.. Van Week
sums up his reasons for letting city
teachers out as follows:
"Where special teacher is provided
to instruct in the elements of vocal
music this clearly exempts those teach
ers in general charge Of such schools
from satisfying the county superintend-
ent of their ability to teach the elements
of vocal music. The question of the
number of times the special teacher
may instruct is one to be determined by
the board of directors and clearly can
have no bearing upon the examination
Of other teachers or instructors in other
branches. The fact that special
teacher is provided for the teaching Of
vocal music clearly exempts other teach-
ers from furnishing proof of their abil.
ity to teach that branch.