DR. WALLACE: I attended a private elementary school and graduated from a private high school. My bachelor's degree was earned at a private institution (University of Southern California) and I am now enrolled at USC as a graduate student.

I have been reading your column since I was in the eighth grade and while I found it interesting, I disagreed with many of your responses, especially regarding sex. You always recommended abstinence when you should have encouraged teens in love to share the ultimate — sexual intercourse. Of course, protection should have been recommended to prevent an unwanted pregnancy or sexually transmitted disease.

But that is not the reason for my letter. You recently addressed the concerns of a ninth-grade student who was worried he wouldn't have time to participate in athletics and maintain superior grades. The boy had straight A's in a private school before entering a public high school.

Knowing that you are a former basketball coach and high school principal in Southern California, I smiled when you said that if he studied two hours a day before or after practice, his grades would not suffer. Shame on you for giving him this false information. Private education is much superior to public education. That's a fact even though you are blind to this reality. All public school educators are.

My advice to the student athlete is to budget the time he has. At night, complete your chores, make lunch, shower and lay out clothes for school. In the morning, spend only 30 minutes to dress and eat. Before practice, study for one hour. After practice, study for two hours; you can stay up later since you will not be wasting so much time in the morning. Most importantly, do at least a third of next week's work on the weekend; this will give you more time to review during the week.

I suggest getting math problems done first, then the reading assignments and, finally, do intermediate work. Break the week into discrete packets and set a timetable so you will not be overwhelmed. In your spare moments in the car or at school, go over the material in your head. Pretend you are giving a presentation or explaining it to someone. If you can get someone to listen, it will be even better.

If the grades do not rise, give up basketball! Hard work, well-planned goals and maturity will bring lifelong success and happiness. — Nameless, Anaheim, Calif.

NAMELESS: While I'm a little put off by your sense of superiority, I can tell you're an excellent student. I respect your work ethic and find value in your suggestions for studying efficiently.

We differ greatly when it comes to teen sex. I doubt that you will ever change your mind and neither will I. Thank goodness I'm the one writing this column!

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.