Gangs and Weapons

My second grader just read this book to me. Tookie writes that he made many mistakes growing up and wishes he could undo many of them. He regrets he ever founding the Crips and admits he was bully. He writes that guns are never good things to bring to school and why (even toy guns are bad to bring to school). Tookie writes about the sadness of the deaths of his best friends due to weapons. Tookie was punished with the death penalty for the heinous crimes he was accused of doing. I believe these are insightful books from an insiders vantage (it's hard to be more intimate with the inner workings of a gang than being a founder/leader of the Crips). The book teaches many excellent lessons about why gangs and weapons are not good. There are valuable examples any caring parent would appreciate teaching a child. While most young boys are saturated with exciting gun images from other media, this book brings home the painful reality of death and loss when guns are misused. I recommend this book to any parent who'd like to keep his/her child out of gangs or using weapons as a solution.

I do not have to ask my students to read these books, they ask me IF I will let them read them! I have seven of this series, as well as his autobiographical "Life in Prison". We have been reading the books and looking up current information on the internet. The students are learning much from Tookie's mistakes and are pledging to not follow in his footsteps. I am hopeful that this is a lesson they will carry with them throughout life.