DR. WALLACE: I'm taking an English class from a teacher whose son is also in the class. I'm getting an A so far, but I have worked hard to earn it. The teacher's son is also getting an A, but he doesn't get involved in class discussions and I've read some of his "A" essays and they are very average. He probably should be getting a C grade. This makes me very angry. Let's face it; students are always competing with each other for good grades, and the winner is crowned valedictorian. I feel cheated. - Nameless, Chicago, Ill.

NAMELESS: Don't concern yourself with the grades of other students. Instead, continue to concentrate on doing the best you can in all subjects. If the teacher is truly favoring her son, then they are losers and you are the winner.

TWO BIG HUGS AND KISSES

DR. WALLACE: My dad smokes a pack of cigarettes a day. He keeps promising my mom and me that he'll stop, but he never does. We love him very much and don't want him to get sick or die because he smokes.

Please tell us how we can get him to stop smoking. — Jill, Tampa, Fla.

JILL: Cut your letter out of the newspaper and place it on his dinner plate while Mom is preparing his favorite meal. Top it off with two big hugs and two big kisses (one from each of you). Tell Dad that you and Mom will do everything you can to support his efforts to quit smoking. It's an offer Dad will find hard to resist.

Please contact me soon and let me know how Dad is progressing.

I LIKE PEANUTS AND POPCORN

DR. WALLACE: I am trying to eat wholesome foods and maintain a 1,400 daily calorie intake. I know that corn is a relatively high-calorie vegetable even though it is loaded with good vitamins. Still, I avoid it because I can eat tons of broccoli or cauliflower for the same calories. Also, how about popcorn? What's the lowdown on this tasty snack? And I also like peanuts. - Jolene, Erie, Pa.

JOLENE: Popcorn is one of the best snacks around. But it must be unbuttered, unsalted and air-popped. Only about 3 percent of its calories come from fat, and popcorn is high in fiber and low in calories.

One cup of peanuts contains 840 calories. You would have to eat 32 cups of popcorn to reach the 840 mark!

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.