Antero Pietila
2007-12-12 08:00:00.0
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BALTIMORE -

You should have been at Saturday’s sold-out matinee of “The Nutcracker” at the Baltimore School for the Arts. The highly competitive public high school showed again why it is so important. It is the only place in the city where talented elementary students as young as second grade can take free ballet lessons.

“The Nutcracker” production featured some of those young dancers. They thrilled and delighted the audience.

There is no more incriminating indictment against school administrators and politicians than their willingness to scuttle arts and music education. Few Baltimore City public schools offer those programs these days. No wonder children bursting with unspent energy create discipline problems.

It’s self-evident that creative self-expression is key to everything basic education should be about — motivation, achievement, manners and socialization. Yet this discovery has somehow escaped all the doctors of education running amok in the school system. They need a reminder at North Avenue, a big sign that declares: “No arts, no dreams; no music, no self-discipline.”

This is why the School of the Arts is so vital. In addition to its ambitious curriculum, the school offers classes in dance for second through eighth graders, and teaches music, theater, stage production and visual arts in fifth through eighth grades. The 25-week after-school program is an oasis in a vast desert, where even little water could sprout flowers.

If you missed “The Nutcracker,” the Baltimore School for the Arts offers a variety of public performances throughout the year.

The good news is that the school is expanding. After a $24 million reconstruction, it will soon include a historic brownstone next door. That’s a double win: The school adds 29,000 square feet of badly needed space while the Cathedral Street just north of Mount Vernon Square gets a bigger anchor.

It fits that another great gift to all Baltimoreans is just a stroll away. She is Carla D. Hayden, who in less than 15 years has overhauled the Pratt Free Library from an embarrassing mess to an institution that continues a proud tradition of excellence.

Under the direction of Ms. Hayden, the library is well-run, which is a necessity because the information sphere, from books to data distribution, is in the midst of a revolution. Keeping up with this revolution presents challenges but also opportunities.

I’m impressed the Pratt has not been confused by the turmoil. It shows responsibility by belatedly buying significant, less recent landmark works of non-fiction that it never did acquire during its low point.

The Pratt also serves as a free gateway to some commercial services that otherwise would cost a user a pretty penny. Among those is the ProQuest family of searchable archives featuring every story printed in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post. I search those papers almost every day for historical material and am amazed at what I learn. The Pratt also offers access to similar services.

This has been an excellent year for the Pratt, which opened its first new library in more than 30 years. The new Southeast Anchor Library in the heart of Highlandtown is a hit. There are plenty of computers, but they are all occupied. “It’s so busy here, we need roller skates,” chuckled Anne Stepney, who has worked for the Pratt for 36 years.

I have seldom seen a motto that is more appropriate than the one welcoming visitors at the Southeast library. “Your journey starts here,” it promises.

The journey continues. The reopening of the Roland Park branch will be next. A $3 million reconstruction has enlarged it by more than a third.

Antero Pietila is a Baltimore Examiner columnist. He can be reached at hap5905@hotmail.com.