A sign that you may be a highly sensitive person: You easily pick up on the emotions of others, sometimes feeling them in your body as if they were your own emotions. At times it is exhausting, but it also allows you to have a lot of empathy and compassion for others. Embrace it!
Introverts don't talk, they observe. Your body, your expressions, your words. They hear not what you say, but what you don't. They may not say a word, but believe me they've got graphs, charts, and behavioral spreadsheets running in their heads.
The key goal of phonics is not to explicitly teach kids the entire code. This simply is not how learning to read happens. The key goal is to teach kids enough of the code so they can begin learning how English orthography actually works through successful experience with text.
In 2017, I spent some time in NYC, and I lived directly across from an adoring couple. I jotted some notes down on hotel stationery, and this was the result. Thank you to @postscriptmag1 for giving it a home. I hope the piece connects with you.