In the grand view of things, you really want folks to have the ability to get the precise meaning of the words. It is the difference between "take this medicine

In the grand view of things, you really want folks to have the ability to get the precise meaning of the words. It is the difference between "take this medicine every few hours" and "Take 4 times a day, at least x hours apart". You'll get to the first thing by following the second, but might not follow the second by doing the first. In other words, approximates are great until they aren't. Skimming is a skill that can be taught as well - in fact, I remember learning different skimming techniques in school. It isn't as useful without being able to parse out exacts when needed, though.