[Eagles6]

That is / was the purpose of homework.

Your learning is outside of class. You may only be able to take notes, be shown how to do a problem, introduced to a theory, concept or idea but, for serious endeavors, you do the research outside of class.

That is what the habit of homework was to instill.

[Smokin' Joe]

I remember older relatives coming over to dive into the library when I was in grade school. We lived humbly, but always had books, including Encyclopedia Britannica.

The web makes research easy, but the version of history available on the school approved websites leaves much to be desired. There are a lot of lazy writers and researchers out there presenting stuff as being from an expert on the matter.