Homework in and of itself is not a terrible thing, but I do think it needs to be structured differently. To me, time spent at home doing school-related work is more useful if a student is reading material before it is taught in class -- not doing large quantities of (often senseless) work afterwards.
Bunk, for the most part. Homework is essential to learning. I know, I hated it when I was in school, but as an adult I've come to a different conclusion. Our son went to a private school where he learned how (and when) to do homework. It was never a problem for him (the school told us never to bug him about it). Through the process he learned how to learn, and he is now a successful professional (which means that he still has homework). The notion that one can learn without effort is wrong. It takes considerable effort for most people to learn, and homework is part of the required effort.