GS was 5.5 when we got custody and had to learn to respect those in authority. He had good reason not to respect those in authority up to that point, but that's another subject. Part of learning respect was to do the tasks assigned to him, then receive an appropriate reward as he learned to internalize feelings of self-pride and accomplishment.
Under the circumstances, I completely agree that for your GS, doing the work assigned was important. I think there was a very specific, larger goal that you were trying to accomplish, and it was a vital goal for your GS's future success. Respecting authority is important and necessary, and if doing the drudge work while you advocated for more was helpful, then I'm all for it. You know your child, and every child is different.
For my situation, my child had always respected authority, but the drudge work was making him LOSE that respect. Not to mention making him think of himself as superior to others in very negative ways and at the same time, making him feel like he was a bad kid because he kept getting into trouble. It was NOT a positive experience for him, and letting it go on was not going to teach him any lessons that he needed to learn at the time.
Blanket rules about kids make me nervous. But if I were going to make a blanket rule in this case, I'd definitely err on the side of giving GT kids more challenge and less/no drudge work most of the time, especially while they're young. (Teens are a different story.) I agree that there are some cases where a certain child might get something they need from drudge work if there are special circumstances. But I don't believe that most young GT kids need to learn anything that boring repetition is likely to teach them, and in fact, I think it can often teach them some very bad things!
My kids do not skate by, and their lives are not pampered, sheltered parties all day long. I am very firmly the boss. I expect hard work. I don't let them give up on things willy-nilly--I've actually gotten some sideways glances about how firm I am with my kids about their trying things and not giving up. I just don't think that young GT kids in general are going to learn useful lessons from boring, too easy, repetitious school work. And except in isolated cases with a specific goal in mind, I don't see any reason to let that go on.
