Center For American Progress Hosts 10th Anniversary Conference
Gov. Jerry Brown addresses a conference commemorating the 10th anniversary of the Center for American Progress on Oct. 24. At another event Monday in Mountain View, Brown declared his opposition to government-imposed education standards and explored other topics in an on-stage interview. (Chip Somodevilla, Getty Images / October 24, 2013)
December 16, 2013, 7:19 p.m.
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. — Gov. Jerry Brown blasted the notion of government-imposed standards for public schools, saying he opposed efforts from Washington and Sacramento to dictate education policy.
Using "data on a national or state level I think misses the point — that learning is very individual, very personal," Brown said during an on-stage interview Monday with the Atlantic magazine's James Bennet at the Computer History Museum. "It comes back to the teacher and the principal. The leader of the school is by far the most important factor."
When asked if he supported national education standards, Brown said, "No. That's just a form of national control."
Speaking to a half-empty auditorium of about 150 technology business leaders, Brown reprised a story he tells frequently about an exam he had in high school when a teacher asked students to write their impressions of a green leaf.
"Still, as I walk by trees, I keep saying, 'How's my impression coming? Can I feel anything? Am I dead inside?' So, this was a very powerful question that has haunted me for 50 years."
The point, Brown said, is that "you can't put that on a standardized test. There are important educational encounters that can't be captured by tests."
The 25-minute interview hit on topics including the rollout of the federal healthcare law and Brown's own intellectual approach, but did not touch on any of the issues or policies that may be part of Brown's next budget, which he is required to make public by Jan. 10.
Assembly Democrats unveiled their spending priorities for the upcoming year — including increases in welfare grants, tax credits for the working poor and more money for community colleges and public universities — but Brown, so far, has remained mum.
The governor expressed optimism that the federal government would fix the problems it has had enrolling thousands of newly eligible people for subsidized healthcare coverage, but admitted the