Dad Writes a Letter Re: his Kids Absences from School

On Face Book, I saw a letter that has of course gone viral that a father wrote to a school Principal after receiving a form letter about how family vacations are not considered excused absences. The kids missed school to go and cheer their Dad on in the Boston Marathon and also visited historical landmarks. There is a lot of history, old and new, there for sure. The kids did miss the standardized testing window at school which as a retired educator I’d consider a major no-no despite the opportunity for experiential learning. Some of the readers’ comments portrayed the father, his actions, and response to the form letter in such a positive light I could honestly say they were convinced Dad was heroic. On the other side of the issue this same letter writing father was labeled by some as arrogant and perhaps a less than stellar role model for his kids. Perhaps it is one thing to disagree with a form letter describing the school’s attendance policy and another to send a scathing response to the school’s Principal that basically left me with the impression that the father didn’t have much respect for the school folks and their efforts to provide an education for his kids. I think he took his position too far because I know firsthand how much time and caring goes into that education. Teachers don’t get enough credit for the work they do from the parents’ and politico’s side of society. That being said, the testing window here has closed and my grandsons are going to miss a few days of the less than last four weeks of school for a family emergency, the details of which I will not reveal here. That will be the excuse they turn in. If and when we receive a letter regarding the schools’ attendance policy (and these absences) I will just accept it and give no written response.