Sprick, Randall S. (2006). Discipline in the Secondary Classroom: A Positive Approach to Behavior Management. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Pages: 286     Price: $29.95     ISBN: 0-7879-7795-0

I've never been too keen on those cute sayings that many people seem to feel obliged to append to their email signatures. But one of my more technically-minded colleagues uses one that I really like: Several weeks spent on testing and development can easily replace an afternoon wasted in the library.

I was reminded of this when reading Randy Sprick's latest book, Discipline in the Secondary Classroom: A Positive Approach to Behavior Management. There is no doubt in my mind that this should be required reading for all secondary teachers. Why? Because, very simply, a few days put aside in reading this book before the start of the academic year (or at least, at the beginning of term) will most likely save not only a lot of stress later on, but also a huge amount of time in dealing with the after-effects of ill-discipline — time which could otherwise be devoted to teaching the curriculum.

Pre-planning is everything. When reading Discipline in the Secondary Classroom, this message springs out from almost every page. If you want to positively impact student behavior, the best time to start — by far — is on the very first day. Sprick talks about grading ("…more than an evaluation tool: it is an instructional and motivational tool as well"), organization ("…may make the difference between success and failure"), motivation ("…inspire them, and you may just find they return the favor"), rules and consequences ("…should be specific, observable, and stated positively"), and a number of other topics, but perhaps the centerpiece of the book is on how to communicate expectations to students. Here Sprick reiterates an acronym that he has used in earlier books, CHAMP (for Conversation, Help, Activity, Movement, and Participation), and introduces a slightly more sophisticated version, ACHIEVE (for Activity, Conversation, Help, Integrity, Effort, Value, and Efficiency).

Anyone who has read any of Sprick’s earlier books will not be disappointed. This is a clearly-written, easy-to-read text, well-structured, full of good ideas, and grounded in practice.

Many teachers know what to teach, but have trouble teaching it, because of problems of student discipline. If this includes you, then this book will be a valuable acquisition. As Sprick so correctly says, an effective teacher can indeed be the defining difference in a child’s life

Reviewed by Tim S. Roberts, a Senior Lecturer with the Faculty of Business and Informatics at Central Queensland University in Australia. He has edited three books and published over 30 articles on various aspects of online learning, and runs the Online Collaborative Learning in Higher Education web site at http://clp.cqu.edu.au, and the Assessment in Higher Education web site at http://ahe.cqu.edu.au.