Every day is a fight. For dignity. For sanity.

One kid was throwing a chair at a guard.

Another had to be cuffed.

One was dragged from the grounds by two people and thrown into a van.

A couple other students were just 20 feet away, oblivious to what was going on, happily playing the marimbas--a gift that was donated today by the South African Department of Education.

It's 10:15 a.m. at Amasango, and it's a fairly normal day.

In an environment where kids are forced to fight for some of life's most basic necessities, it seems as though nothing is off limits. There is no act too violent. Step into any of the classrooms, and you'll find many of the windows broken. With fights being a daily occurrence, the windows have sometimes fallen casualty to the violence.

I frequently pass another school that is at the opposite end of the spectrum: St. Andrew's College. Daily, I walk by the campus, situated close to Rhodes, as I make my way to Amasango. St. Andrew's is a posh, wealthy boarding school that attracts students from across South Africa and across the African continent. The gleaming white-washed walls, the sparkling windows, the manicured gardens and the well dressed people scurrying about are fun to look at--but I don't think I'd ever want to be in St. Andrew's.

The kids at Amasango are alive. They're full of energy. Sometimes the energy needs to be redirected. Sometimes it needs to be molded and shaped. Sometimes a kid just needs a little encouragement. Sometimes he needs to be cuffed, or dragged away. Whatever is going on at the school, one thing is for certain: these kids are alive and are so much fun to be around.

You never know what to expect. You never know what's going to make a kid really happy. Or what's going to set him off. You never know when a kid might run up to you and give you a hug for no reason. Nor do you know when a vicious fight might break out. You don't know...and that is the beauty of it for me.

I'm sure St. Andrew's is an excellent educational institution. I've often seen the St. Andrew's kids dressed in suits and ties switching classes as the bell sounds across campus. Some days, I wonder what it would be like to be at St. Andrew's. Some days, I wish Amasango were a bit more like St. Andrew's. But if it were, Amasango would simply not be Amasango.