This is not a lesson that is directed toward school children only. While it is an accepted part of a child's education, it is more far-reaching than that. Homework implies that we have been assigned a responsibility or expectation that we will prepare on our own time for some future encounter. My life experiences have always placed a high value on being prepared and doing my homework.
At an elementary level, children are assigned work to finish without the supervision of a teacher. It is an opportunity for a child to demonstrate that they have the self-discipline to complete a task and show that they can learn responsibility at an early age. As a principal, I had the same expectation of my teaching staff. A teacher's homework was to meaningfully prepare lessons to teach the next day and to mark the work that students had submitted. Needless to say, some teachers performed their homework better than others.
In later life, I often encountered examples of poor planning and lack of foresight. I recall attending numerous meetings in my working life where we had been given an assignment, usually some document or submission, that we were asked to read and consider before the meeting. I soon became fairly obvious who had and who had not done their homework.
The more responsible a job or profession, the more often individuals were required to be well prepared. I have encountered university professors who were not prepared and flew by the seat of their pants. Some coaches in all minor sports are very well organized and planned for their practice sessions, and others just let kids fool around. Ministers have often ad-libbed a sermon that they had a week to prepare ahead of time. If a person has not done their homework and preparation, they are wasting the valuable time of a lot of people who have depended upon them.
If you consider successful people that you know, I am positive that you would agree that they always worked hard and were prepared.
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