I believe there is a certain necessity for homework. I know most of the time it is drill and kill, but if a teacher sets up their homework in such a fashion to incorporate applications of the concepts that students have learned in school or designed projects that can be completed over time, with these concepts intertwined throughout in homework pieces than it becomes meaningful. In jobs that I have outside the realm of education, I have taken ideas home with me and processed how to create a meaningful presentation of the issues at hand.
Making Kids Work a "Second Shift" / Discussion
This is the discussion related to the wiki page Making Kids Work a "Second Shift".