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Gina Paul is an inner-city early childhood special education teacher and will soon be a licensed bilingual teacher. She came to the United States at the age of ten and spoke no English. She learned the language through watching educational children’s programs on television. Gina is a strong believer in bridging the gap between cultures and communities, which she believes can be accomplished by educating young people about history, creating opportunities to share stories, recognizing individual differences, and having a healthy appreciation for diversity.
Reviewed by Amy Raines for Readers' Favorite
I Am Not Being Lazy, I Just Don’t Understand is written by Gina Paul and illustrated by DG. Georgette has just relocated to the United States. School in New York City is much different from the Haitian schools she grew up in. She has a difficult time understanding what people are saying and what she is supposed to do. The students and teachers are not much help because the teachers and students can’t understand her. Some children begin calling Georgette lazy. When she attempts to learn some English phrases, the other kids laugh because of her accent and the way she often misspeaks. Will Georgette find a way to bridge the cultural gap? Will she be able to show the students and the teachers that she really is not lazy?
I Am Not Being Lazy, I Just Don’t Understand by Gina Paul is a beautiful story that has cultural issues taking center stage. Georgette moved from her native country to the United States only to be greeted by kids that laugh at her, roll their eyes, and mistreat her solely because they do not understand her. The illustrations by DG are wonderful images that demonstrate the mood of the story as well as the words do. I recommend this book to anyone who has children, regardless of their age. This story will help them try to understand the cultural differences and hopefully encourage them to bridge the gap with their own culturally diverse community! I hope Gina Paul will write many more stories that encourage children to have empathy and compassion in situations like this.
