Homework is a waste of time.

Living in Japan, and having had some interaction with elementary and junior high school students, I have to ask myself whether homework is all it's meant to be.
This story about research in New Zealand (NZ Herald, 5 Nov) puts the spotlight on homework. 
A few take-outs from the story (remembering these are NZ figures):

• 93% of students said they had to do homework, and 87% of teachers give it
•  37% of teachers agreed with the statement, 'I am increasingly doubting the value of homework'
• 38% of parents and 37% of students agreed with the above statement

However:

• 73% of parents said they liked to be involved in their child's homework
• 56% of parents said they agreed that their child benefited from homework
• 73% agreed that homework helped their child develop study skills
• 70% agreed that it taught their child responsibility
• 68% agreed that it taught their child discipline

And from the children:

• 50% agreed that homework helped them be responsible for their own learning.

So where do the contrasting opinions come from? 

What I think is that much of the homework is being given for the sake of giving it. It's the way it always has been so it is the way it must be, especially here in Japan.

If you listen to Ken Robinson  here or here in a couple of his excellent speeches about education, anyone who knows anything knows that education must change with this crazy changing times. To paraphrase Ken Livingstone, 'We don't know what's happening next week. How can we educate children for ten years down the line?'

Not the way we're doing it I suspect, as indicated by the findings of this study.

Parents will always value education, and it seems that the children know it's a good idea deep down, but are losing faith in how it's being delivered.