Big Question

My big question is: Why are teachers literally trying to deprive us of our childhood by giving us homework? I mean they want us to discover something we love to do early on, yet we don't really get time to go out and explore new interests. Sure teachers think it's supposed to help us later on in life, but seriously do I really need to know what the domain and range of y=-x^3 + 2 are in order to be successful or know when George Washington defeated so-and-so. MY answer is NO because self-educating ourselves is much more important than wasting an hour or two on homework that the teachers don't even take a second glance at, just a quick skim of it, and they magically decide whether if it's A or F material, like "What is thaaaaat?" I put effort into this assignment you told me to do just for you to quickly look it over. I think that's some straight BS . So, Yeah, why do teachers try to take away the majority of our childhood?

A few websites that speak facts:
http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/article/down-homework
http://www.alfiekohn.org/article/rethinking-homework/