The kids are back in school, and now the complaints begin:

I have too much homework.
I want to watch TV.
I don't want to read that book.

The Teacher Excellence Center -- which honors top teachers in Southwestern Pennsylvania -- has help for parents.

The center received answers from about 50 of its award winners from the past three years on such critical subjects as homework, television, movies and books.

		The List Teachers' suggestions on books and films, sorted by age group.

"We thought that since they were recognized as outstanding educators, they had a lot of valuable information we thought would be useful to parents," said Christine Veverka, executive director of the Teacher Excellence Center.

While some of these issues can be tough for parents, the pros don't always agree, either. Asked to name two movies every child should see, the teachers came up with 63 suggestions, and that's counting the Disney Classics all together as just one.

Here are some of the best answers for parents given by some of the region's best teachers:

How much time should a child spend on homework?

Some suggested a rule of thumb of 10 minutes per grade level. This rule means a first-grader would have 10 minutes of homework while a high school senior would have two hours.

But not even all in this group used that rule. For example, one recommended 30 minutes to an hour a night for first-graders.

An hour was a common recommendation in middle school; the biggest recommendation was an hour and a half.

As for high school students, teachers suggested 1 1/2 hours to 3 hours.

How much TV should students watch?

Some teachers ration TV, with some suggesting banning TV on school nights. Others would grant a half-hour to two hours -- and that larger amount in high school, not the lower grades. And some noted there should be no TV before homework is done.

Many suggested tuning the TV to the Discovery Channel and History Channel.

For the little ones, "Barney" got a yes, but "South Park" is out.

What books should students read?

For the elementary students, some teachers chose "Charlotte's Web" by E.B. White and "Little House on the Prairie" by Laura Ingalls Wilder.

One of the top books in middle school was "Holes" by Louis Sachar. And in high school Harper Lee's "To Kill a Mockingbird" was a favorite.

Some of the authors who were mentioned for more than one book include Lynne Reid Banks, Roald Dahl, Kate DiCamillo, Gary Paulsen, George Orwell, John Steinbeck, Dr. Seuss and J.R.R. Tolkien.

One book -- "The Little Prince" by Antoine de Saint-Exupery -- was recommended for students both in elementary and high school.

What movies should every student see?

Popular movies for elementary students included "It's a Wonderful Life," "Little House on the Prairie" and "March of the Penguins."

Not only was "Holes" one of the most recommended books for middle schoolers, it also was one of the most recommended movies.

On the high school list, "To Kill a Mockingbird," which was on the book list, also was among the favorite movies.

What Web sites should students visit?

The recommendations here also were varied, but some for elementary school were:

www.starfall.com
www.encyclopedia.com
www.timeforkids.com

Middle school students were directed to:

www.google.com
www.wikipedia.com

High school students were told to go to sites that help with homework, such as homework help on America Online.

What activities should students do?

Music and physical activities, such as team sports, lead the pack; other suggestions include joining clubs, volunteering, and getting involved with theater and debate.

What are the biggest impediments to learning?

Some of them take place at the school, such as large class sizes.

But others come straight from home, such as a lack of parental support, poor sleep habits, poor nutrition, too much TV and overscheduling.

How can parents work with teachers?

At any level, some of the most popular suggestions were to communicate and stay up-to-date on school assignments and progress. Some suggested joining parent groups and attending parent-teacher conferences and school events.