If you haven't seen it yet, one Pennsylvania father's response to a letter from his children's principal went viral after he was told days his children missed to watch him run the Boston Marathon would be unexcused absences.

Though the father, Mike Rossi, never actually sent the response to his children's principal, he did post it on Facebook. From there, it became a viral sensation and also an intense subject of debate.

The letter that Rossi received from the principal was to let him know that his family vacation to participate in the Boston Marathon would not be excused "regardless of the activities involved in the trip."

"The school district is not in the position of overseeing family vacations or evaluating the educational nature of a family trip," the letter said.

Rossi, who did not appreciate the tone or contents of the letter, responded with this:

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 3 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.

Rossi understands that the principal was just doing her job as an educator, but told Today.com that he thinks that there should be room for exception: "But I always say zero tolerance equals zero common sense, and in this case, they made this blanket rule and say, no exceptions? It's silly," he said, according to Today.com.

In the aftermath of the media attention, Rossi admitted he had no idea how big the exchange would become. He has since taken to many different platforms to admonish news outlets for inappropriate headlines regarding the matter, according to the Phillymag.com. 

Read the full article here and comment below.

Article by Nicole Gorman, Education World Contributor

05/1/2015