On the one hand, certainly GT kids, like everyone else, need to understand that some tasks that need to be done in life are extremely dull. On the other hand, usually those life tasks have a certain amount of importance above and beyond "following rules". For example, I need to get the bills paid, even though I hate it and it's boring, because if I don't there could be serious consequences to credit, not to mention the fact that the people whom I need to pay indeed need the payment. Tedious employer protocols need to be followed because they were set up for a reason (hopefully a good one lol). In contrast, with busywork, there is no benefit for the student or the school/teacher/class for the student having done busywork - it is merely a waste of time.
And yet, I have a hard time sympathizing with the student who chooses on their own not to follow the rules, even when the rules are really, really dumb. A better system somehow would allow for asking permission not to do the assignments, or something. I'm not sure how that would work though. Perhaps, at least in AP courses, which by their nature are supposed to be college-level work, the students should be treated likewise - graded only on a midterm and a final, with a failure to do assignments at the student's peril in terms of learning but not in terms of grades - another method to learning responsibility, I guess.
just some random thoughts
