One Father's Epic Response To School About His Kids' Absence

Priceless.

By Higher Perspective — Written on Mar 21, 2016

Photo: Stokkete / Shutterstock

One Father's EPIC Response To School About His Kids' Absence

Mike Rossi, a Philadelphia father, pulled his two kids out of school for a few days so they could go and watch him run the Boston Marathon. The school had different thoughts, though.

They called it an "inexcusable absence," thinking that they get to have the final say in family vacations and parenting styles.

The family received this letter from the school:

Naturally, Mike had some things to say.

Here is his epic response to the school about his kids' absence:

Dear Madam Principal,

While I appreciate your concern for our children's education, I can promise you they learned as much in the five days we were in Boston as they would in an entire year in school.

Our children had a once-in-a-lifetime experience, one that can't be duplicated in a classroom or read in a book.

In the three days of school they missed (which consisted of standardized testing that they could take any time), they learned about dedication, commitment, love, perseverance, overcoming adversity, civic pride, patriotism, American history, culinary arts, and physical education.

They watched their father overcome injury, bad weather, the death of a loved one, and many other obstacles to achieve an important personal goal. They also experienced first-hand the love and support of thousands of others cheering on people with a common goal.

At the marathon, they watched blind runners, runners, with prosthetic limbs and debilitating diseases, and people running to raise money for great causes run in the most prestigious and historic marathon in the world. They also paid tribute to the victims of senseless acts of terrorism and learned that no matter what evil may occur, terrorists cannot deter the American spirit.

These are things they won't ever truly learn in the classroom.

In addition, our children walked the Freedom Trail, they visited the site of the Boston Tea Party, the Boston Massacre, and the graves of several signers of the Declaration of Independence. These are things they WILL learn in school a year or more from now. So in actuality, our children are ahead of the game.

They also visited an aquarium, sampled great cuisine, and spent many hours of physical activity walking and swimming.

We appreciate the efforts of the wonderful teachers and staff and cherish the education they are receiving at Rydal Elementary School. We truly love our school. But I wouldn't hesitate to pull them out of school again for an experience like the one they had this past week.

Thank you for your time.