Nope, I don't believe so. In the long term we're all dead, and students need to be learning and staying motivated every day.
Remember, phonics gives immediate improvements too, for short words. So it's pretty much a false dichotomy.
For students who are picking up phonics quickly from the start, great. For the students who are struggling from the start, try other methods ASAP.
As a teacher, figuring out which methods work for a student isn't rocket science. Your students are either getting better on a visible daily basis or not. We're not talking a 5% difference in outcomes, it's more like 75% difference. (Of course, bad teachers just don't pay attention at all, or are too swamped with work to be able to.)
Remember, phonics gives immediate improvements too, for short words. So it's pretty much a false dichotomy.
For students who are picking up phonics quickly from the start, great. For the students who are struggling from the start, try other methods ASAP.
As a teacher, figuring out which methods work for a student isn't rocket science. Your students are either getting better on a visible daily basis or not. We're not talking a 5% difference in outcomes, it's more like 75% difference. (Of course, bad teachers just don't pay attention at all, or are too swamped with work to be able to.)