DR. WALLACE: I firmly disagree with you when you say that the public schools should not permit teachers or administrators to use corporal punishment (spanking) as a means of maintaining discipline. I was in elementary school shortly after the Great World War. Our teachers not only enlightened students educationally, but also instilled a lasting respect and code of ethics. For the slightest infraction, we would be paddled. Even though we were under strict discipline, we respected our teachers and our teachers never once threatened to go on strike.

After many years as a substitute teacher in high school, I've come to the conclusion that without fear, chaos and mayhem can occur in every facet of our society. Believe me — fear reigns at West Point and at the Naval Academy in Annapolis. - Retired Substitute Teacher, Chicago, Ill.

TEACHER: I've received a number of letters disagreeing with me about corporal punishment in our schools. I respect the views of those who disagree, but they will not cause me to change my mind. If parents want spanking and paddling as forms of school discipline, then they should be permitted to come to school, paddle in hand, and complete the act — on their own children, of course.

IT JUST ISN'T FAIR

DR. WALLACE: I'm 14 and have a 13-year-old sister who spends more time worrying about what I do than living her own life. Let me give you an example. I asked my mom if I could get my ears pierced. My sister overheard my request and said that it wouldn't be fair to her because I'm 12 years and 3 months old and she had to wait until she was 12 years, 5 months old before getting her ears pierce.

I can't ask for anything that she got at an older age. All I hear is, "It just isn't fair." I'm so tired of those words I could scream if I hear them again. Mom is a very nice lady and tries to please my sister and me equally, so many times she takes my sister's side. All I can say then is, "It isn't fair!" — Julie, Hackensack, N.J.

JULIE: Let's hope that after mom has had a chance to read this column she will find a way to keep your sister and you happy most of the time. If she wasn't a wise, caring mom she would just toss her hands in the air and declare, "Why do I always have to make sure that each girl has to be treated exactly the same as the other. It just isn't fair!"

TEENS CAN BECOME ALCOHOLICS

DR. WALLACE: You said in your column that it's possible for teens to become alcoholics. My father is a recovering alcoholic (he's been sober for over a year) and he said that he learned at an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting that it takes five years of drinking for someone to become an alcoholic. If that's true, it means there are too many teen alcoholics. Do you care to explain? - Nameless, Moline, Ill.

NAMELESS: It's true that it takes at least five years for an adult to become an alcoholic, but according to therapists at Community Psychiatric Center in Santa Ana, California, a teen, by contrast, can become an alcoholic in 18 months of heavy drinking. It's crucial that teen drinkers be aware of the risks they're taking!

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.