UPDATE!

Matthew Yglesias, responding to Joyner, says his real issue in the matter discussed below is “an inappropriate instance of rights-talk.” I respectfully disagree. If you’re going to insist that someone does a complicated job, you’ve got to give them some latitude to do that job in their own fashion. I think that applies here–and it applies in both directions. It’s wrong for the state to tell parents, “If you home-school, you can’t teach your child x.” But, if parents charge the state with educating their children, it’s equally wrong of them to micro-manage classroom content. I realize this is a huge can of worms to open, but I believe that it is appropriate to speak of a “right” to use one’s own judgement and expertise in carrying out a complicated task. Look what happened to the Dallas Cowboys once Jerry Jones decided to let his head coach actually coach the team . . .