because the great majority of people he'd be socializing with are otherwise occupie
If James' kid were the only one, maybe. But I'll bet that there are plenty of kids and people of other ages who are not in school, including in western Massachusetts where he lives.
Although my 8-year-old son likes his teacher, he is frequently bored at school. He attends a high quality suburban public school in the United States. He has a lot of traits in common with LessWrong readers, and we would like advice for what he can do to counter his boredom. Many of you must have found grade school more or less tedious. What were your coping strategies?