Homework is really important in classes like math were you may not get the time in class to do extensive practice problems. English as well, you can't write all your essays in class & expect to get a valuable amount of time for learning the material as well.

Banning homework altogether is not a solution : the solution is putting limits on amount of homework given. Excessive homework can sometimes discourage students from school out of anger/resentment, so teachers need to know how to balance between what is actually productive & what will just take up a student's time. They are young & NEED time to wind down. But they will slack without any homework as well if they're not incredibly productive in school.

I think 30 min of homework in each subject a night is reasonable.