People always remember their best teacher.
And they recall, not so fondly, the dingy, fluorescent lights in the junior high. The cinderblock walls painted a muted cream contrasting with the school colors. Muscling their way into an overcrowded classroom.
Gary Pearman thrives on all that. Teachers empower those around them. And the empowerment provided by “Mr. Pearman” extends beyond the classroom.
Some view teaching as a job. But not Mr. Pearman.
Teaching is life.
“Being a teacher consumes me,” Mr. Pearman said. “It’s in every aspect (of me).”
With no family to feed or children of his own to chase around, life boils down to a man and his students. So, rumors fly around the halls of T.K. Stone Middle School, suggesting that Mr. Pearman lives in the school.
“There was this one time that my daughter was driving me past the school at 9 p.m. on a Friday, and there’s Mr. Pearman’s light on,” Karen Halt said. “So I jumped out of the car and knocked on his window. I scared him half to death.”
That dedication garners recognition and many awards. But Mr. Pearman doesn’t give them much thought.
“The awards are nice, but I would still enjoy teaching — even if they never came along,” Mr. Pearman said.
The things he finds joy in gain him no glory.
Mr. Pearman lives with his mother in Hodgenville. He believes that staying with Dixie Pearman, 78, empowers her to remain semi-independent and keeps her out of a nursing home.
“I had money saved up to build a house of my own, but when Dad died, it just made sense for me to move in with Mom,” Mr. Pearman said.
There, he plays piano, taught to him by his grandmother so he could accompany the worship team at his church. The solitude of a long hike around his family farm provides him respite from the demands of teaching. A recent hike in the crisp, fall air brought back memories from his days as a school kid. He recalled a day when he kneeled on the banks of a spring and lapped up fresh, cool water — probably not a healthy option now.
But Mr. Pearman’s life always flows back to teaching.
And even though he would never admit his significance, Mr. Pearman’s ability to empower his students remains significant to others.
