Philadelphia dad, Mike Rossi decided to take his children out of school for a few days so they could accompany him and his wife on a trip to Boston where he was taking part in the Boston Marathon. After their return, he received a letter from his kids school principal in regards to their absence. In the letter, the principal states that the absence is 'inexcusable' and that the  " Abington School District does not recognize family trips as an excused absence, regardless of the activities involved in the trip. " She goes on to say "they are not in the position of overseeing family vacations or evaluating the educational nature of a family trip". Mike was taken aback by  the letter.  “This is the zero tolerance that everyone loves,” he said. “They've taken common sense out of the equation. You've violated the rules and here's your letter. It definitely rubbed me the wrong way." Mike takes his children's education very seriously and didn't appreciate the school painting him as an irresponsible parent. He felt the need to respond to the principal's letter. "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 have in an entire school year. Our children had a once-in-a-lifetime experience, one that can't be duplicated in a classroom or read in a book," he wrote. "They watched their father overcome injury, bad weather, the death of a loved one and many obstacles to achieve an important personal 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". He also mentioned that his children were able to do something they would never have been able to do had they not joined their father on this trip - pay their respects to the victims of the Boston Bombing marathon.  He ends the letter by saying "I wouldn't hesitate to pull them out of school again for an experience like the one they had this past week." I applaud Mike for taking the time to let the school know how he felt.  We all know that our kids benefit greatly from our schools. It really is a privilege for them to have a place to go to where they get to soak in all that knowledge. But we also know that the extent of their learning should never end there. There is an abundance of life experiences to be explored. And sometimes, there are things - as Mike has expressed so well - " that they won't ever truly learn in a classroom." Click here to read the principal's letter and Mike's response in their entirety.   photo courtesy of Nick Amoscato/Flickr.com