how reading english is more difficult than writing english?

Coming across a debate that took place over the weekend was that when it comes to the English language reading it is more difficult than actually writing. I can say myself that I highly agree with this statement. I think I can take a firm stance on this because luckily I was gifted with the ability to be a good speller. In Elementary School I can say that I was a pretty good speller. I loved spelling, rarely needed to work on my spelling list for homework. It was just a natural ability that I believe my family gene has. Reading English today, especially with younger kids can be more of a challenge than writing because of all the rules that come along with it. Being as I will most likely become a teacher some day, I am ready to be aware of understanding that there will be a challenge when it comes to children picking up reading as opposed to writing. I feel like with the writing system, they are introduced that first and with that comes letters which sounds, the alphabet. When writing to someone or making a picture for someone, kids are most likely going to put their name or someone else's name on it and they will have no trouble asking how to spell it and are able to write, it is the reading problem that many kids struggle with. In today's society, we look at a lot of different grammar rules when it comes to learning how to read and write. The silent E for example, the "f" sound for "ph" and many more rules. With all of these rules, many students struggle with reading and that being said, making it harder to comprehend. Eventually getting this, students will then master both. Many can say this is a debatable topic, saying writing is more difficult. With an important stance taken, reading is definitely more difficult, especially for young children to master above writing.