Our youths today are smarter, going by the number of international awards that they have been winning. But they have also become more selfish, rude, irresponsible and disrespectful of authority. I teach a class of notorious 13-year-olds.

Every teacher who has gone to teach this class has complained about the students. To make yourself heard, you have to shout above the voices of 34 students in this class of 40, of whom only six are interested in what you have to say.

My 13-year-old son attends an autonomous school in the East and studying is a daily challenge. He is one of the few in his class who does his project faithfully, hands in his assignments and homework punctually and listens in class attentively.

So what is the problem, you may ask? He is considered 'lame', and is teased and ostracised.

Remember the recent mass suspension of over 100 students in a secondary school in the north-east? Did the students view the matter seriously? Instead of returning to school after getting their hair cut and uniform adjusted as they had been told to do so, some took it upon themselves to have an extra day off.

In Saturday's article, both Dr Carol Balhetchet, of the Singapore Chidren's Society's Youth Development Centre, and Mr Yusof Ismail, counsellor and chief executive of Ain Society, support the tough and strict approach.

I'm sure others who work with youth share the same sentiments. Parents, who still think that these youths should be sweet-talked into turning over a new leaf, should wake up. Some hard knocks are what they need.

Giselle Ho (Mdm)

RIGHT APPROACH

'What is wrong with an authority such as a judge or a teacher raising his voice at appropriate times and talking tough to highlight the gravity of a crime or misconduct?'

MR MALCOLM TAN, who supports the tough approach by judges in correcting juvenile delinquents in court. 'If a juvenile appears in court to be charged for offences, he or she is already, at that point in time, somewhat hardcore and has probably previously failed to respond to soft approaches such as counselling, the reflective thinking process and pep talks,'' he says.