Everybody likes to tell teachers what to do.

Take the federal government and the No Child Left Behind requirements, for example, or the state with its rules with the Florida Comprehensive Achievement Test.

Now, in Broward County, the school board has approved homework guidelines regarding how much teachers should assign at varying grade levels, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reports.

What's next, having teachers do regular lunchbox or backpack inspections each day?

The new guidelines suggest 10 minutes for each grade level. A first-grader would be given assignments that take about 10 minutes to complete. A high school senior would build up to two hours.

All this supposedly to counteract the stress that homework might be putting on young people and interference with their socialization. The policy, which will kick in during the 2009-10 school year, also would give parents more leeway to tell teachers how they should be handling homework.

The policy requires teachers to be sensitive about the costs of projects, provide prompt feedback on assignments and to orchestrate with other teachers so students aren't overloaded with projects at the same time, the story said.

Why not add that teachers are only to hold their heads perfectly straight and allow at least three children to answer any question directed to the class?

Sorry, teachers, maybe we shouldn't have suggested those. Some school boards apparently have no bigger fish to fry and might just implement them.