Yahoo News echoes a longish Time magazine piece with this longish title:
Inside the Massive Effort to Change the Way Kids Are Taught to Read
The Cliff Notes© version: phonics works, other stuff not so much. English is semi-phonetic, enough to make phonics worthwhile.
This isn't particularly news to me, the other DrC was a teacher of teachers with a particular interest in how reading is taught. She maintained her commitment to phonics during periods when it was totally out of fashion, to her professional detriment. We both learned phonics as kids, we both "sound out" words and look for root words.
One thing is clear, reading is the foundational skill in developed countries. If you don't learn it, you will basically exist on the fringes of society, be miserable and likely die younger than your age cohort with opioids in your bloodstream, no money in your pocket and few teeth in your head.
