Counselor Jo

Hello, my name is Counselor Jo, and welcome to my blog!!

I am a National Board Certified Counselor and Licensed as a Professional School Counselor. I have my M.Ed. from the University of Virginia-go hoos! I have over a decade of experience working with students in public schools and I’m excited to share my experiences and ideas with you.

Together, we can change the way we think about teaching and supporting students. It is time that we view education through a new lens. Our collective vision~ to teach and support the WHOLE child. And along those same lines, it is time that the same effort go into supporting the well being of school personnel. It can feel overwhelming to make needed changes. When you are the only counselor or administrator in a school of 700, or teacher with 25-30 students per class. I know it well.

I do believe that change is possible and necessary. We can start with small steps! Literally, one small change could make your classroom the happiest one in the building. Noticing the unique needs of one of your students, could mean that he or she finally feels understood. Think about what your day is like if you listen to your favorite song in the car on the way to work or get a sweet text from your friend. Think in terms of small changes~they mean a lot and compound.

“I do believe that change is possible and necessary. We can start with small steps!”

This notion of educating the Whole child is nothing new. But in my experience over the last ten years, it is not really understood nor sufficiently implemented. It’s time for a paradigm shift.

Educating the whole child can mean many things, but let’s first start with taking it literally. Students have brains, AND bodies. And guess what?! They are connected! The mind affects the body and the body affects the mind. We cannot disregard this any longer. I believe this is where reform is critical. Students use their minds so much, that they become disconnected from their bodies. Likewise, students do not get much movement which leads to fatigue and boredom. If we can truly start to view students from this integrated perspective, we will set them up to achieve goals and live heathier lives.

My vision for this blog:

1. to inspire you to explore the mind-body connection in relation to education.

2. to provide you with ideas and concrete tools that you can implement in your own school/home for yourself and for your students.

3. to provide support and normalize experiences for educators and parents.

4. to create a shift in education towards health and wholeness.

I have been studying the nervous system for over a year now through an online program called SmartBody SmartMind. It is created by Irene Lyon, and I highly recommend it! Diving into this information has given me a new perspective on supporting my own nervous system and well being. An unintended consequence is that it has given me a whole new outlook on ways to support students!! I plan to share more on this as we go and I hope you will come along!

Thanks for being here and take good care of yourself today! 🙂