Julia Solomon

Julia Solomon

Dr Julia Solomon; (April 21 1927 - 25 April 2016) (nee Green) was an Australian early-childhood educator, academic, literacy theorist and developer of the Solomon Method of Reading.

In 1990, based upon decades of her own research and experience, Julia Solomon developed Reading For Sure - a unique method for teaching effective English literacy to both children and adults, the implementation of which became almost her primary professional focus until the end of her life. Solomon travelled widely around Australia and the world lecturing on her system, and established a franchising of her highly successful clinics where thousands of students gained the gift of literacy.

Early Life

Born Julia Green, Solomon was born in Newcastle, NSW, Australia, graduated from Perth Modern School in Western Australia 1943 and from the Kindergarten Union of Western Australia (KUWA) and the Teacher Training College in 1947. Returning to Newcastle as an early-childhood teacher, she married Geoffrey Solomon in 1953, and lived in Newcastle and then Perth from 1970. Solomon began implementing her unique ideas regarding pre-school education at ‘The Hill’ Kindergarten which she founded in 1960 in Newcastle.

Education

Solomon returned to formal study in the 1960s, completing degrees in English and Clinical Psychology at the University of New England, NSW. She received a Master’s Degree in Psychology (1974) and was awarded a PhD in Education from Murdoch University (1980); her thesis was based upon ideas outlined in her earlier study Learning To Think (1973).

Reading For Sure

As a practicing psychologist, Solomon observed that many of the children being referred to her for persistent ‘behavioural’ problems were actually suffering from anxiety over their inability to read, and her clinical practice became increasingly directed towards basic literacy. Solomon noticed a remarkable reduction in behavioural problems amongst children once their anxiety over literacy was resolved.

Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, Solomon developed a method of reading which simplified the written English language and greatly increased its consistency for readers. She also developed a unique method by which her diacritical system was to be taught. This became known as the ‘Solomon Method’, while her reading system as a whole was called Reading for Sure (RFS). In 1993, Solomon founded World Literacy International to manage and operate a campaign to disseminate RFS  to the wider public.

Publications

• Learning to Think (1973, Kindergarten Association of Western Australia). An analysis of cognitive growth and its application to early childhood education. In Learning to Think, Solomon analysed the development of children in prelogical years.
• Encounters (1976, Child Study Publications) -A resource schedule for early childhood.
• Encounters, Level 2 (1976, Child Study Publications) -A resource schedule for early childhood.
• Fat Cat Sam (1993, World Literacy International)  reading primer using the Reading for Sure system.
• Teaching Literacy from the Beginning (WLI, 2008) - a neuro-developmental theory for English reading instruction
• Stepping Ahead (WLI, 2009) - outlining a basic literacy program.
• The use of observations of child development for early childhood education (1984, manuscript, Murdoch University)

Legacy

Dr Julia Solomon’s work was acknowledged in 2012 when she was named as a finalist in the Senior Australian of the Year in a ceremony at Government House. Solomon’s work has influenced thousands of people throughout the world who have struggled with English literacy. The Reading for Sure program and clinics have continued through her student and close associate Lynne Wajon.

Personal Life

Throughout her life, Dr Julia Solomon was deeply involved in Jewish communal life in both Newcastle and Perth. Her children are two sons, David Solomon and Rabbi Marcus Solomon SC, and a daughter Rina.