Hidden Magic is a student-driven feature that highlights a teacher or staff member in BHS who we feel deserves recognition for what makes that person special. In each issue, we recognize a different teacher or staff member and show our Bear Facts readers why these individuals are the hidden magic at BHS.

We hear the term liberal all the time. Whether you associate it as a good or a bad thing, we usually think of it in the political connotation. The classical definition of liberal is someone who is “open-minded or not strict in the observance of orthodox, traditional, or established forms or ways” (Merriam).
Mrs. Robin Welch teaches Bioethical issues, a class designed to breed conversation and allow students to share ideas without resulting in personal attacks. Mrs. Welch wanted to teach a course that would help students go beyond the idea of “I think this because that’s how I feel” to get students to engage in critical thinking and explain why they think the way they do.
Bella Grana, a former student of Mrs. Welch said, “Mrs. Welch is the kind of teacher that makes you think. She will not hand out answers to you and she really challenges in an easy that is productive and beneficial to your overall learning.”
Rohan Thumma, a classmate in Bioethical Issues, said, “Mrs. Welch makes an effort to teach her students the art of conversation.” Nowadays, students have difficulty communicating with one another about serious issues. We have lost the ability to articulate our points of view in any meaningful way, to listen to an opposing point of view without thinking the person is either stupid or evil, and Mrs. Welch encourages that articulation.
I appreciate Mrs. Welch because she is a teacher who is willing to address issues that will affect our generation and let us converse about them instead of trying to change the subject to the latest football game or reality television show. Because when we do that, all we are doing is hurting ourselves in the future. Someday our generation will take over the country, and we will be unequipped to deal with serious issues because we never learned how to. Mrs. Welch is equipping us for that future.
This year has been challenging for everyone due to the pandemic, especially for a class meant to meet every other day. Yet thanks to Mrs. Welch, we can be a class with multiple students, in multiple formats, with multiple learning styles, talking about a given topic. It has been incredibly challenging to say the least. Mrs. Welch has done everything right by her students to provide them with a chance to express themselves through writing, Flip Grid, and discussion. Of course, having a conversation over Zoom is not the same as in-person, but where some would have given up, Mrs. Welch never did even under difficult circumstances.
For that reason, I thank you.