I recently visited Deering High School with an immigrant friend to help him with his English skills by adding new vocabulary in a real-life context. What we saw there taught my friend much more than words such as “classroom,” “gym,” “cafeteria” and “library.” He got a positive glimpse of American cultural life and an affirmation of American civic values.

First we saw icons: Busts of two American presidents in the entrance hall and a Hall of Flags representing the 35 countries Deering students come from. The images of Washington and Lincoln remind the Deering community of shared American civic ideals, while the flags speak to the durability of those ideals. A map of the world and its caption (“35 Countries, One School”) translate into graphic terms the overarching national goal of “E pluribus unum.”

More important than the icons, though, were the living and breathing reminders of the promise of American unity in diversity. Clusters of students from diverse national and ethnic backgrounds roamed the corridors, chatted in the cafeteria and did walking laps in the gym together.

To the casual observer, the students in that school seemed to be enjoying each other, differences of color, accent and garb notwithstanding. Conflicts about immigration didn’t seem to be part of their conversations.

I know this was just a snapshot, and appearances can be deceiving. But I must say that I was happy to have chosen Deering High as the setting for that day’s English lesson. And the smile on my friend’s face when he saw his country’s flag in the hall told me he was happy as well. In that moment, in that place, inclusion seemed very real and the American melting pot didn’t seem so far-fetched an idea.

Michael Lee

Kittery Point