E.K Powe teacher Jonathan Norville, known to most everyone as Jon O, says as a student with a learning disability, school was hard for him. As a fifth grade teacher, he's committed himself to making sure that the young people under his tutelage never feel unsuccessful. The Teacher of the Year finalist, who hails from Miami, Florida, said he was encouraged to teach. He says it  was his calling so it wasn’t a hard sell.

Jon O recently published a children’s book that he wrote and illustrated 13 years ago entitled, Jazzy’s Dream Bubbles. The final version of the book, which is written in the form of a poem, was written last year.

It’s the story of a young girl who dreams with bubbles that represent her ambitions but every time she dreams, her bubbles are popped. A teacher finds her and guides her toward making a choice to follow her dreams and facing two hard truths: not everyone is going to believe in your dreams, and not everyone has to believe in your dreams in order for them to believe they’ll come true. 

Jon O says he’s always wanted to write and illustrate children’s books because he loves the lessons they can communicate. His first story was written in 2011-2012 but he waited to publish it because he felt that his art style and ability to communicate in depth were missing. In 2015, he published Dean and the Scariest of Things after learning how to self-publish.

“Art and story were just as important,” he said. “My intelligence just shows up differently than others. It took me a minute to find teachers who believed in me. Even as a student, teachers put me over scores. I always wanted to be that type of adult for kids,” he said.

Jon O worked for Boys & Girls Club in Scottsdale, Arizona; he coaches and mentors to this day. He arrived in North Carolina looking for a physical education position, worked as an instructional assistant– which he says showed him what patience was– and then he was offered an opportunity to substitute teach. Eventually, he became a teacher on an emergency license. He has now completed his seventh year of teaching saying, “God played a big hand” in this opportunity.

“I absolutely love this job. It’s a blessing,” he says.

Jon O says his book speaks to the current climate.

“Kids usually have a list of what they want to be when they grow up.  Now we’re living in an age where we’re not dreamers,” he laments.

“It’s okay to dream,” says Jon O. “I’m teaching kids how to be prepared to be an adult.

All of my lessons are more about who you are as a human being, who you want to be as a human being.”

Jon O says he includes personal finance, budgeting, and making financial choices in his lessons.

“I’m trying to be the best possible teacher,” he says.

Jon O will host a book launch on Friday, June 12 book launch at 5 p.m. at Letters Bookshop in downtown Durham.