We are at war. The battleground is the classroom. And Bernie Sanders just doesn’t get it

Our nation is at war. I’m not talking about an external battle -- we are in a war for our nation, our national security and its future. The battleground? The classroom.

Our nation’s education system is failing, and it’s time to treat the problem as seriously as we would any external attack.

According to the Nation’s Report Card, two-thirds of our nation’s eighth-grade students are below proficiency in math. More than three-quarters are below proficiency in civics.

That should frighten every American.

Yet despite the grave state of our nation’s schools, people like Sen. Bernie Sanders are trying to kill a successful and popular public school option and restrict our educational system to only one vision of education, standing in the way of opportunity for more students, in the name of conformity.