LISD Librarians share the April Author of the Month: LHS educator Phyllis Martin Hopp. She has taught for thirty-seven years, but Phyllis remembered going to the Rio Grande with her church and working with Mexico's kids when deciding on a teaching field. Her dad, Bob Martin told her in 1981 that "Bilingual education is the coming thing!" She took many hours of Spanish, Education, and Bilingual Education classes and was among the first group of students at Texas Tech, majoring in Bilingual Education. Phyllis spent the summer of 1982 attending the TTU Field Course at Universidad de San Luis, Potosi, Mexico, with twenty other TTU students. She lived, breathed, ate, and slept Mexican history, enjoyed daily life in Mexico, took Spanish classes, and traveled throughout Mexico to graduate in 1983, fluent in Spanish. Mrs. Hopp taught Bilingual Education all over Texas and earned her Master of Education degree from UNT before returning to Levelland to teach Spanish to Secondary students and then Elementary Bilingual Education. While teaching Bilingual students at Capitol, she wrote her book, My Daddy is in Jail, after dealing with children experiencing their parents' incarceration and its terrible effects on the families. The book, written from a child's point of view, reflects today's reality for many children and gives insight into the struggles and confusion families deal with when a family member is in Jail. Phyllis says, "I watched many children stumble into my classroom over the years, overcome with grief, anger, and questions, in these situations. Most of their parents couldn't deal with the situations themselves and had no way to discuss their children's situation. The child in the book begins to withdraw from others, and her teacher notices. The character opens up to the teacher to learn what is happening, why it is happening, and what to expect next. The teacher explains it is alright to be mad at someone and still love them too, even if you don't like what they do." Phyllis has written seven more stories that she hopes to publish soon. Each story is about a child in a difficult situation in which an adult helps the child in crises, teaching them that it's safe to confide in adults. Mrs. Hopp, LISD is so proud of you and look forward to reading your future books! #LevellandISD
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