“Vision is the destroyer of essence.” In our context, “vision” is often used to name a really cool idea offered by someone outside the neighborhood. Frequently these ideas come from well-meaning staff people who work and serve in another low-income neighborhood. But the gifts of those young men so eager to teach what they knew in their own community were the “essence.” They had something to offer and wanted to do it because they cared, even though many of us who were helpers didn’t even consider that possibility. They wanted to be teachers. Why not? It was their essence.
