My son is 8 years old and in the third grade.  He, along with the kids at his school and in the school district spend 8 hours a day at school learning, with one 30 minute recess.  Some kids are there even longer if they have working parents and they have to go to before and/or after school care.  When parents finally get home with their kids, they have very little time to tend to their family's needs and agendas.  We are busy preparing dinner, showers, extra-curricular activities, playing games, enjoying the outdoors, and enforcing family values. Add hours of homework on top of this and it is robbing families of the small amount of quality time they have together on a daily basis. 

Teachers should be able to effectively teach our children the academic skills needed to be successful in the 8 hours a day they have them in their classrooms.  Sending homework home is taking away from the family time that we need to focus on as a community and as a nation. If you want us to practice the skills we learn in the classroom, let our kids be kids and explore the world, catch bugs, play ball, climb trees, not sit inside working the same problems over and over again that they've already been working on all day in the classroom.  

Help me stop mandatory homework!  If kids need extra help in an area, the teacher can communicate that with the parent and the parent can work with that child independently without having to force them to do the same work.  It will help them manage their time and learn responsibility.