Kansas Man Searches for Teacher to Apologize for Classroom Behavior, 18 Years Later
— -- Nate Davis was upset to hear that his seventh grade Spanish teacher, Ruth Florence, died seven years ago -- because, he said, he never got the chance to apologize for his bad behavior in her classroom 18 years ago.
"Just having a horrid memory of my behavior, but a good memory of who she was, it made me sad to know that she had passed away," Davis, of Wichita, Kansas, told ABC News.
Davis, now 31, felt so bad about what he did as a 12-year-old at Brooks Magnet Middle School in 1997 that he had launched a Facebook campaign with the goal of locating and apologizing to Florence. Now, he hopes to deliver his apology in person during a planned meeting with Florence's niece.
Davis, a father of five, recalled targeting Florence, who used a wheelchair, to bolster his image as the class clown. Among many transgressions, he said, he remembered emptying pencil shavings on her head and, on another occasion, wheeling her out of her own classroom during class and locking the door.
"She got frustrated and would holler at me, saying, 'Go sit down,' but she never got me suspended," he said. "I think with her vulnerability and her being disabled, I definitely took advantage of that.
"Every day was a new day," he said. "She'd say, 'Are we going to have a good day today, Mr. Davis?' Each day, I got a clean slate with her."
Davis said an Instagram post from the photoblog "Humans of New York" reminded him of his poor classroom behavior toward Florence.
"There was a picture of a little kid and the caption said that he got kicked out of class," Davis said. "I commented and wrote, 'If you think that kid was bad, you should’ve seen me in Spanish class.'
Davis said other users suggested he find Florence to apologize.
"I didn't have any argument against that,” he said. “I thought it was a great idea."
Soon after, Davis made a video asking Facebook friends to help him locate Florence. The video was shared more than 300 times and got more than 10,000 views.
"Finally, it had only been 24 hours and someone inboxed me with the link to her obituary,” Davis said.
Florence had died on March 14, 2008, at age 60. Disappointed, Davis contacted Florence's niece, Stacy Florence, whose name he had found in the comments section of the online obituary. He said he tentatively plans to meet with her.
"I just plan on reaffirming to her what she already knows -- that her aunt was a great person, a great teacher, and that I'm sorry for the way I treated her," Davis said.
Stacy Florence did not immediately respond to ABC News' requests for comment. But Rosa Florence, Ruth Florence's mother, said she is not surprised to hear her daughter kept giving Davis second chances.
"That was exactly Ruth," she said. "I'm not just saying it because she was my daughter, but she was a very loving, outreaching person and she loved her students. She would come in heartbroken when she'd find out a student was upset. She wouldn’t put it that they were a bad student. She knew there was probably something else causing that.
"I just wish to God that, hopefully, she's somewhere listening to his [Davis'] apology," she added.
Davis, now a member of the state advisory group on juvenile justice and delinquency prevention, said he does what he can for children in hopes they can avoid experiencing the same regret he feels today.
"I definitely have used my life experience ... as teaching tools for my kids," he said.
An official said the Wichita School District was aware of Davis' story, but could not confirm the details and declined comment.
