I vote yes for homework. To say no is another example of surrounding kids with cotton wool, cocooning them from the painful realities of the world.

The reality is, this is the only way we can reach the standards that the parents demand from the schools. The only way that the teachers can schedule the time to keep up with these demands is to expect the kids to do some of the work at home. I do agree that homework should be relevant to the kid's vocational, basic knowledge, language, and math skills, therefore, concise and brief.

In this generation, people treat kids as if they are passive little garden gnomes. Don't forget that they are intelligent and thinking people.

Like it or not, homework is one of those responsibilities necesary to learn to better skills for the rest of our lives. This is ongoing through life as technology changes constantly.

Are you going to do it for them? Are you going to be in their tache case for the rest of their lives to solve problems? They are approaching a tough world that will require discipline and responsibility. This includes choice of food, exercise, discipline, and time management.

Of course there has to be time for fun and excerise.

If you just leave it for the kids to decide, and you know they will just slump around, get fat, lazy, bored, spoilt, and whinge louder and louder driving you to utter insanity.

This is an injustice in welfare as it does not prepare them for a world that is not made of cotton wool.

Hi, I'm a teacher and also have kids.
Work given as homework is supposed to be revision of what is taught in class (i.e. nothing new). If that is the case and the child is bright they shouldn't need the extra revision. This is different in high school of course.

One poster mentioned their child getting all words right in a pretest. You should speak to the teacher as the child is not having his/her needs met. When I do a pretest the child receives a different list if they get them all right.
The reason I dislike homework is also that a lot of parents do do it. I never give marks towards an assesment based on homework for that reason. I refuse to do homework for my children. What does that achieve?
I work in a high achieving school and the children get homework. In kindergarten (first year of school) the children are expected to read a book and read sight words. Only the ones who don't do it are falling behind.