I would encourage my DS to take a stand if he doesn't believe in the validity of the question. I'd tell him skipping a question is a cop-out, communicate effectively and well your disdain; if you don't believe olympic athletes are heroes, then write about that and why and give examples of actual heroes or if you don't believe in heroes, then great role models or similar.
If he thought a book was weak and dull, I'd say write about that and defend his point of view and contrast it with stronger literature. I also say bored can be counter-attacked... if something is repetitive, then analyze it, picture making it more engaging, automating it, develop skills in split attention, focus on enhancing your performance, etc. If the classroom topic and discussion is dull, contemplate fellow students, what they know, what is engaging them, etc.
