I think the younger a child is, the less they should have to put up with in terms of fitting in and boredom. Early elementary really should be engaging and fun for the vast majority of kids. I think the lessons as Sylvia Rimm presents them are important lessons to be learned over a period of years. So that by the time reaches jr. high to high school age, they have the ability to have some patience with regards to boredom. I think this really varies by child too. Some kids are totally fine coasting through the elementary years and don't lose anything. Some kids can't tolerate it.
I definitely don't homeschool my kids like they're the center of the world. My 3rd grade age son does probably 80%+ of his HS work self initiated these days, so in a lot of ways I think he's learned more independence than he might have in a typical school environment. Some things are negotiable - science projects for instance. Some things are not. We do math, reading, writing, grammar every day we are doing what we call "core" work. This fall that was 4 days a week when we attending our HS co-op.
Anyway, I know some HS kids that are moving on extremely well adjusted and prepared for the rigors of college.
