Helpful Homework!

So the school year has begun and the slower pace of the first few weeks is officially over.... Homework is in full force. I must admit that I, as a parent and educator, struggle with homework. There is quality skill reinforcement and/ or completing work not finished during the day and then there is busy work and / or self educating assignments. I strongly believe that homework in elementary should be brief and reinforcing and as needed. At the high school level it should be mostly studying/ reviewing and working on larger projects.

So, my questions to all of you out there are...
Parents: What kind of homework do your kids have? How long do they spend on average doing homework each night? and Do you feel that it is beneficial or busy work? How do you handle excessive homework or that which you feel is not meaningful?

Teachers or instructional staff: How do you decide what is homework and what kinds do you give? How long do you expect your students to spend on homework? Do you work with other teachers to try and not expect large quantities of work on the same nights?

Administrators: How do you work with teachers to promote quality homework assignments/ tasks? What kinds of work do you see your teachers sendinghome with kids? How long do you think students should spend on assigned homework each night or per week?

Students: What do you like about homework? What kinds do you appreciate the most and least? How much time to you spend on homework? What kinds of things determine how much time to spend on it ( ie. extra-curricular, chirch, job, chores, parents etc).

Thanks for your input and insight! We can all benefit from your responses!