The short answer is to emphasize delayed gratification, the long answer is;
We don�t believe he has met many of his intellectual peers yet, so we remind him that he has to continue to put in his best effort to get to the next level. We believe that his marks will improve as he moves up in grade and also think he needs to get into a high school that has higher than average academic criteria for admittance. This should minimize the occurrence of busywork.
In the meantime, we tell him the truth and validate many of his impressions. He knows that we believe him regarding issues at school and do what we can for him. He knows we have limited influence regarding his school day, yet we continually advocate for him.
We hope that he will end up in his chosen profession where he will most likely be surrounded by others who endured similar educational experiences. If he can maintain his best effort in the meantime, he is more likely to end up where he wants with a career in physics and aviation and less likely to have to endure the mundane on a continual basis.
