I do agree with the Ruff quote, at least in terms of my dd (now 5). She started to read quite early. Sight words just after she turned 2 ... entire books/stories before she turned 3. I read to her often as a child, but in terms of her learning to read, I never taught her a thing. She seemed to teach herself. Almost entirely whole words -- with a bit of sounding out.
Then, this past year in pre-k, her teacher tested her in phonics and random made-up words and found her to have some gaps. I said, "Yes, but have her pick up that Encyclopedia Brown chapter book. She can read and comprehend the whole thing." It seemed silly to me to focus on phonics when she could already read and comprehend at a much higher level. Why focus on made-up words when she could actually really read the words on the page?
I'm not saying phonics are bad. I have a second dd (now 3) who is just barely starting to recognize words. I have a feeling phonics will be key to helping her learn how to read. And I embrace that fact. I just don't think you should make a child slog through all the parts when he/she can already read and comprehend. It's like making a child keep working on floating when he/she already knows how to swim (which is happening at our lessons this summer ... but I digress
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