DR. WALLACE: My older brother often lies to our parents and believe it or not, he gets away with about 90% of his fabricated stories. Usually, they have nothing at all to do with me, but last week he told me that he expected me to "back him up" on a lie that he planned to tell our father.

I was really worried that my dad would ask me something that would put me in the position of either lying to cover for my brother or telling my father the truth, which would have caused my brother to get into a ton of trouble. I'll spare you the details about what my brother lied about, but I know that you would not only have disapproved of the details, but you might even have been shocked by my brother's overall behavior.

I couldn't sleep for a few nights worrying about this, but luckily for me my dad never brought anything up that would have put me in the spotlight.

But now I'm really worried that my unscrupulous brother will do this again to me soon. I don't like to lie to anyone or deceive anyone, especially my parents. — I Have a New Dilemma, via email

I HAVE A NEW DILEMMA: Tell your manipulative brother that he caught you off guard the first time, but now that you've had some time to get over the shock of being drawn into his web, you're done being manipulated.

Let him know in no uncertain terms that you are not going to compromise your character and morals for anyone, especially him. Explain that you will not seek to turn him in for anything past or present, but if you are asked any questions by your parents, that you will give only honest answers now and forever.

Tell him that if he does not want your honesty to impact his life that he should not do or say anything in front of you that will cause him trouble.

I HAVE A TEACHER THAT LIKES TO PLAY 'GOTCHA!'

DR. WALLACE: One of my teachers seems to like to play "gotcha" in her classroom and it makes me very nervous. She stops her teaching at various points and then asks a student, by name, to explain further the point that she's making.

She does this to everyone, even the students who are obviously the smartest ones in the classroom. It's like she enjoys seeing everyone squirm, and then if a student hesitates to answer while thinking about what to say, she will let out a really loud sigh to punctuate her disapproval.

Nobody I've talked to seems to like this class or this teacher. Why does she wish to teach in a manner that puts everyone on edge all of the time? — I'm Stuck in Her Class, via email

I'M STUCK IN HER CLASS: Teachers at times make mistakes and I believe, only based upon what you've related here, that she's making a mistake to audibly show disapproval toward any student she is teaching simply because a student is thinking carefully before answering an impromptu question.

It could be that your teacher wants to keep your whole class paying attention and on their toes during her lectures, but there are many other and better ways to accomplish this.

Showing audible disrespect for several students a day is not going to advance her career path smoothly. Perhaps at a parent-teacher conference one parent from your class could tactfully suggest that she may want to consider adding a bit more encouragement and less disapproval during her future lectures.

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. Email him at rwallace@thegreatestgift.com. 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.

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