My friend called the school and asked them why they assigned the kids homework that they couldn't possibly do without help of their parent. The answer was "we think it fosters quality time between parent and child." She answered that the time she spent helping her child with her schoolwork was NOT quality time, it was tense, frustrated time, and besides how DARE they try to manipulate her and run her life through her child! Didn't do any good.
Schools and it's minions are not to be argued or trifled with. I teach my children that in general those institutions are full of morons. That they should do only what is required of them by the morons. You should take your childrens minds to a higher ground, and teach them what the intended purposes of schools are and what the reality is. Schools and it's employees can control everything but the free will of your child to choose. The real teaching should be done by you - and that is teaching the child to learn on his own, reading books about history, getting them into Computer programming, mathematical tutoring. Your kid can learn more quickly and more adeptly if he knows this. This idea of one size fits all learning and cramming kids through a broken system with moron mentors is complete buffoonery.
My twin daughters are in the 4th grade in school in California. Every 4th grader (even in the private schools) has to do a mission project. I hate the thing. It cannot be done alone.
My daughters built missions. A few years back, my son made a video tape of one.
I don't know that it really taught my daughters that much. I actually think the field trips to the mission teaches much more than the project.
I like projects that are simple and kids can do all by themselves. I also think most should be done in school.
I think the main homework should be reading. Hopefully, a parent will have time to spend reading with their child. (I don't always have time to spend reading with my 3 kids, so I think this is also difficult.)