Saying all this though, when I am helping my 5yr old daughter with her spellings it does highlight what a mish-mash of a language English is.
For example they are taught the sound 'ur' as in 'hurt'.Then they are expected to understand that 'ir' makes the same sound in 'first'.
Silent 'k' in 'knee' or 'knock'. 'C' can make the same sound as 's' etc etc
We evolve, so anything that makes learning easier is fine by me