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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Mark Chance" data-source="post: 1133919" data-attributes="member: 2795">I have had any number of students over the years who are talented readers and yet, at the same time, are basically incapable of separating fact from fiction except in the most egregious cases. This is especially true of students between the ages of 6 and 12, who are, generally, still very concrete in their thinking and unable to grasp the nuances of metaphor, simile, et cetera.The ability to do X does not equate with the maturity to understand X and all of X's ramifications.A person has to have a "value system" (whatever that is) before they can "integrate" anything new into it. The average child, ages 6 to 12, doesn't have a "value system." They don't have the life experience necessary to form reasonable (with the emphasis on "reason") opinions about a host of different subjects.It is a parent's job to decide what is age-appropriate for his or her children, and then work within the parameters of that decision. My 6-year-old son is a proficient reader, probably two years ahead of the curve. Nevertheless, he doesn't read anything that either my wife or I do not approve of, no matter if he can read the words themselves.Reading does not equate understanding, as any reading teacher with but one year of experience can attest.</blockquote>