•  Big Idea #1:  The Common Core Standards have new emphases and require a careful reading.
• It is a misconception to assume that these standards merely require minor tweeks to our curriculum and instructional practice.  
• McTighe and Wiggins suggest NOT zeroing in on the grade-level standards before a careful examination of the goals and structure of the overall documents.  Start instead with the "blueprint" - with an overall vision of the "end in mind," together teachers can create learning that fits together across the grade-level and throughout the building and district. 
• Big Idea #2:  Standards are NOT curriculum.
• The standards define what all students are expected to know and be able to do, not how teachers should teach.
• Educators must translate the standards into engaging and effective curriculum.
• The curriculum should work with the standards to frame optimal learning experiences.  
• Big Idea #3:  Standards need to be "unpacked."
• Consider "unpacking" the standards into four broad categories - 1) long-term transfer goals, 2) overarching understanding, 3) overarching essential questions, and 4) a set of recurring cornerstone tasks.
• Transfer goals identify the effective uses of content understanding, knowledge and skill sought in the long run - what kids can do when they confront new challenges, in and outside of school.
• Overarching Understandings and Essential Questions are two sides of a coin.  The understandings state what skilled performers will need in order to effectively transfer their learning to new situations, while essential questions exploration engages learners in making meaning and deepening their understandings.
• Cornerstone tasks are curriculum-embedded tasks that engage students in applying their knowledge and skills in an authentic and relevant context.  
• Big Idea #4:  A coherent curriculum is mapped backwards from desired performances.
• The key to avoiding an overly-discrete and fragmented curriculum is to design backward from complex performances that require content.
• The key and initial question for curriculum development is NOT "What will we teach and when should we teach it?"  Rather, THE question for curriculum development must be goal focused:  "Having learned key content, what will students be able to do with it?"
• Big Idea #5:  The standards come to life through the assessments.
• The standards refer to the desired qualities of student work and the degree of rigor that must be addressed and achieved.  
• The performance-based conception of standards lies at the heart of what is needed to translate the Core into a robust curriculum and assessment system.
• We must strive for worthy performance tasks anchored by rigorous rubrics and annotated work samples. 

This article was contributed by Southeast Polk's bandmaster, Jacqui Meunier.  She serves as President-Elect of the Iowa Bandmasters Association. 

Happy autumn! I trust the school year is off to a busy yet productive start for everyone. Marching season is in full bloom and nearly coming to an end. It never ceases to amaze me how quickly this time of year comes and goes. Before we know it, many of us will be playing our final chords on the field at the State Marching Band Contest. There are numerous aspects of marching band that I have grown to respect and enjoy. The enjoyment comes from attending various festivals or competitions and getting to spend time visiting with fellow band directors. It is always my goal to learn something from those discussions and from watching their bands perform. My respect has grown from watching my students transform from "couch potatoes" into determined, discipline-seeking, complex-thinking, responsible musical athletes. Early in my teaching career, I was not convinced that marching band had a credible place in the world of music. Though it may not be the best venue for which to teach deep musical concepts, it is one of the best venues to teach life and this is exactly what I strive to do each and every day.

In our band worlds, we barely make it out of one area of focus before we are moving into another. Often, those areas overlap for long periods of time. For example, all throughout marching band season, we are preparing students for All State auditions. Talk about worlds colliding. While preparing students for All State auditions, you may also be having students audition for concert or jazz ensembles, musical pit orchestras and honor bands. It can be overwhelming if you allow yourself to really analyze all it is that you are doing, let alone all it is that we are expecting of our students. Finding that happy medium can be nearly impossible. Throw into that mix, all of the things we are assigned to do that have absolutely nothing to do with teaching music to our students and it can lead to a recipe for disaster.

I believe it is imperative that we find time in each day to "stop and smell the roses." Yes, it is a clich� but I find, metaphorically, "smelling the roses" helps me more easily identify the joys, motivations and/or rejuvenations that may enter my workday that would otherwise go unnoticed. They may be in the form of a special visit or letter from a former student, a student coming to a band lesson prepared, the administration acknowledging a band performance at an in-service meeting or a band hallway packed with students before and after school every day. Each day presents us with opportunities to "smell the roses" if we are intentionally looking for them. I have found that to be the key. Roses do not come looking for you. They bloom there quietly in the garden until you finally notice their beauty. Next, you must put yourself in a position to smell them. Lastly, visualize what senses come into play following the act of smelling a beautiful rose. You cannot help but have your body immediately experience feelings of relaxation, happiness, release, awe, gratefulness.... The list can go on. Whatever those moments are throughout your day, look for them intentionally and embrace them. They will keep you strong through the tough times.

I wish you the best of luck and most of all remember to "stop and smell the roses"!

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