DR. WALLACE: Our high school offers a class on the social and physical damage to drug and alcohol abusers. Yesterday in class a guest speaker discussed things that drivers do and don't do when they are alcohol-impaired. I thought this information was extremely important and I would like to share it with your teen readers. Will you please make this information available to them? — Thank you, Brianne, Seattle, Wash.

BRIANNE: Thanks for sharing this useful information. Drinking and driving form a deadly duo and in many crashes due to driving impaired, it's those who are innocent who pay the supreme price.

Most drivers under the influence are not aware that they:

1. Forget to put the headlights on or to dim them for oncoming cars.

2. Change speed more often and make frequent lane changes.

3. Overshoot stop signs and ignore yellow lights at intersections.

4. Drift onto shoulders or straddle the center line as they change stations on their radio.

5. Pay less and less attention to the driving environment.

6. Are less able to anticipate dangers ahead.

7. Should not talk on hand-held telephones.

IT TAKES A DEDICATED PARENT TO HOME-SCHOOL A CHILD

DR. WALLACE: My cousin in California is being "home-taught" by his mother. How can this happen? I thought kids had to go to a school to be taught by a teacher who had graduated from college. My aunt, the teacher, attended a community college for one year, but never graduated. Is it possible she's breaking the law for not enrolling her daughter in a public or private school? — Susan, St. Paul, Minn.

SUSAN: Home schooling is legal and the number of students being taught at home is growing at the rate of 15 percent a year. According to the National Home-Education Research Institute, up to 1.7 million students in the U.S. were home-educated last year. Each state has educational requirements that must be fulfilled by the home-school parent.

The home teacher, usually a parent, is not required to have a degree. In fact, in a study of U.S. home-schooling by the University of Maryland monitored 20,760 home-schooled students in all 50 states. It found that the achievement levels of home-schooled students were just as high whether or not the parent had a college degree.

Parents select home-schooling for their children for two main reasons: First, religious instruction can be offered. Second, the fear of violence, gangs, drugs, etc., is eliminated.

It takes a truly dedicated parent to be a home teacher; some take on this job with their children from first through 12th grade. And many home-school students are top achievers. They often place well in national science, history and other contests. After all, they get instruction tailored to their individual needs and interests.

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.