do you think homework should be banned?

No. My kid has reading homework nightly, so as to help him in class. We spend about 15-20 minutes on it.

Anything else he may have is entirely up to him - he has to bring home whatever work he didn't finsish during the day.

It also teaches kids that as they get older, they have to do some extra work on their own in order to be above the bare minimum.

To whine about how it's not fair to the kids, and not fair to the parents - that says a lot about you, OP. You want the kids to have the idea if they just show up and do the mins, they will be fine. Not the way it works in school, college, or work life.

And I know a lot of people who work more than 8 hours a day, or bring work home with them.

This sounds somewhat whiny, sorry. Not fair to the poor kids, what'd the poor parents ever do?

Are you a lazy parent? I hate dealing with my kid with HW, but I know it will help him in the future.

No. As a teacher I can tell you that the best way for students to learn is to practice. Given the amount of material we are required to cover in the course of the school year AND the numerous interruptions that take place during the course of the instructional day, homework is necessary. It is also instrumental in communicating between home and school. Students who have homework (and it shouldn't exceed 10 minutes per grade level so 10 minutes for 1 grade and 120 for 12th grade (my daughter easily passed the two hour mark, but did well with the extra exposure without distraction and we didn't suffer any ill effects in family relationships). I don't assign homework. If students take work home it means students didn't use their time well and I apportion time specifically so all students can finish in class. There are those who squander their time and it needs to be done. Check your school policy--there are limits.

Sorry, but if you work on salary not hourly work, then no, you don't work a set number of hours and your done. You take work home, you work as much as it takes to meet whatever deadlines you have. Homework prepares your child for the real world by teaching them that they need to complete some busy work before playing. Everyone has paperwork they hate, or presentations they would prefer not to make but guess what, you have to. I guess if you work hourly, then maybe you don't know that not everyone's day ends once they leave their workplace.

Umm....no

I help my kids with their homework, so not only do I spend time with them, but I also know what's going on in school.

In real life most people with CAREERS, take work home with them. If not actual paperwork, at least the stress of work and most kids don't spend 8, 9, or 10 hrs. a day in school. I would much rather have homework than spend more time in school.

In my experience working at the school I have found that homework assignments are fairly balanced class to class, teacher to teacher.

And finally, the "burden" of our children's education SHOULD be on us as parents.

No... because I'm not lazy and I want what's best for my child. And many people take work home with them or work overtime so I think homework is really no different than that. Kids need reinforcement when they are learning new material. When learning to read they need to read every day so that they can improve. I read every night even as an adult, I love it. I have a love of reading because I had to read every night as my homework in every grade, even in high school we had to read certain chapters of whatever novel we were studying. I don't agree with loads of homework, but I do think that homework is necessary to help a child learn and improve certain skills that are needed later in life.

Homework does not take away from our family, it adds to it. By supervising our son's homework we get firsthand knowlege of what he's learning, he learning capacity for the subject, and what is being taught. My husband sometimes spends 8-10 hours at work, then brings unfinished work home, and sits at the table and does it too. We believe it's teaching our son a good work ethic of getting things done & done right, not just "putting your time in".
Maybe in some schools/grades, the amount of homework may be overkill, but in our district the amount of homework per grade level is pre-determined by the school district, not the teachers.
We don't view our son's homework as a burden. We do use it as a quality family time. We are so very happy to be actively involved in his education. And our son has a lot of pride in showing us what he's learning, and what interests him in school.

In real life, we work 8,9, 10 hours, a set amount of hours, and then we are, or should be, -done-.

I've had one job like that - at Pizza Hut. The rest have all required me to do extra hours, either as OT or for "free" since it was salary.

Well, I am in college and spend the recommended 2 hours per credit hour studying. With out the homework, there is no way that I would remember and/or understand fully what was taught to me That day. I love homework for myself and for my son because I know how important it is for the actual learning of classes. The teachers teach it and it is up to the kid to LEARN it, not just remember it and homework is practice and with practice comes an understanding. So yes, I encourage home work.... Call me crazy i guess : )

've had one job like that - at Pizza Hut. The rest have all required me to do extra hours, either as OT or for "free" since it was salary.
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Ditto except mine was CI CI's pizza. then I decided I didn't want to just be a cashier anymore and had to study every night for my managers tests that lasted 6 months(I was 18).I worked that job through college, which I always had homework and knew I was getting the best education. If you want to go anywhere in life you have to work for it. The minimum requirements won't cut it any where.