Honestly, I think phonics is useful as one more trick in the bag.
I remember when I was learning to read, since I had a much larger verbal vocabulary than I did a written one. Phonics allows a child with such to parse a word they've never read before but have heard, though there are still some problems. In particular, I remembered having to read a story about "busy chick" to my 1st grade teacher and saying "bussy" only to be corrected and told it was pronounced "bizzy." Suddenly the story about the hyperactive chick made much more sense, though my teacher was not able to offer any explanation of why "bus" was pronounced "biz" in "busy" and "business."
I was also mispronouncing "automaton" for years because I'd read it many times before I heard anyone actually say it.
Kids learn phonics as a way to make sense of written words, but also quickly learn that it's not universal tool, and you realize that "busy" and such are not pronounced as they should be.
I was also pronouncing the "h" in "herbal" for years until corrected to the illogical American pronunciation, which now annoys me when I hear Brits get to pronounce the h. Unless they're Cockney, which is I think where the American's got the h-dropping from.
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