DR. WALLACE: Is it true that they are going to ban sex education from the classroom? If this is true, when will kids get the necessary facts? Most parents wait until it's too late or they are too embarrassed themselves to do the job correctly. — Megan, Seattle, Wash.

MEGAN: Each school district makes its own curriculum. This is usually done by the school personnel and approved by the school board. It's possible, for instance, for sex education to be discontinued in Seattle, but taught in Everett or Tacoma. Your principal can answer your question.

Sex education in the public schools remains controversial in some communities, and local boards of education are rightly sensitive to public pressure. However, as you point out, teen-agers are in great need of factual information on this topic, and when parents don't provide it, the best source is the school. If your local board is discontinuing sex education because of complaints from one sector of the community, the only way to restore it is for the rest of the community to let its opinion be known, loudly and persistently.

As a former high school principal, I favor a sexual education program for public schools. But parents who do not want their student to participate in the program could send a signed note asking to have their student not participate and it would be honored. This would be a workable plan. I know because this was the plan used by our school district when I was a high school principal.

SCREAMING AT MOM WAS A NO-NO!

DR. WALLACE: My brother is a brat. I've told him a zillion times not to come into my room unless he knocks first and gets my permission to enter.

Last night he walked right into my room without knocking when I was getting ready for bed. In a loud voice, I told him to get out of my room immediately. Well, my mother heard me and came upstairs to see what all the commotion was about. Instead of getting on my brother's case for entering my room, she blamed me for yelling at him. This really ticked me off and at the top of my lungs I screamed that I was now yelling, but I had only been talking loudly to my brat (I mean brother).

For this, I was grounded for 10 days and my brother got no punishment whatsoever. I feel I was unjustly punished. Was I? — Nameless, DeKalb, Ill.

NAMELESS: Even though you were trying to make a point, it's a no-no to yell at your parents. Your punishment was warranted. But the time has come to deal with your brother's uninvited visits. Ask if your parents will allow you to put a bar lock on your door. It could save a lot of future problems for you. If the answer is no, ask them to please make sure your brother never enters your room without your permission. This is a reasonable request that should be honored by your parents.

Dr. Robert Wallace welcomes questions from readers. Although he is unable to reply to all of them individually, he will answer as many as possible in this column. E-mail him at [email protected]. To find out more about Dr. Robert Wallace and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.