Book excerpt: Secondary Classroom Management presents an introduction to classroom management in secondary schools. Written in a lively, engaging, conversational style, it combines what research has to say about effective classroom management with knowledge culled from practice. This text focuses on real decisions made by real teachers as they manage the complex environment of the secondary classroom. The text integrates the thinking and the actual management practices of four real secondary school teachers into discussions of research-based management principles. Readers come to "know" these teachers. We hear about the classes they teach and about the physical constraints of their rooms. We hear them reflect on their rules and routines and watch as they teach these rules and routines to students. We listen as they talk about motivating students and building community, and as they discuss appropriate ways to deal with misbehavior. Secondary Classroom Management is well-organized and more comprehensive than many classroom management texts, with chapters on building safer, more caring classrooms; working with families; using time effectively; motivation; working with troubled students; and violence prevention. It also addresses the managerial challenges involved in a variety of instructional formats, such as recitations, discussions, and groupwork.