Did you say "homework"?

With all the things I heard about american schools, I was very surprised about levels and commitments in elementary schools.

Diane in 4th grade (CM1 in France) has every evening a lot of homeworks to do, it takes her around one hour. Often she has 15 math exercices, spelling words, reading.

Eugeine in kindergarten has homework and at this age, after one day of class, believe me, it's hard...

Since Obama administration asked that every public school in every state must follow the same syllabus, the commitments have increased. 

So what is the best ? Homework or no homework? This is definitely too much here, I think.

During the schoolday, it's so intense, they have only 1/2 hour to eat and 1/2 hour of recess....