I had the opportunity to observe Brother Guy Doris teach a Marriage Prep class that I am in every Tuesday night. The week I observed was the night that we talked about marital intimacy. Though an akward subject for both unmarried young adults and even married couples, Brother Dorius told us that it is so important and though it may be weird to talk about, it is essential in a marriage and since this is a marriage prep class, we need to be informed about this subject.
When students walk into the classroom Brother Dorius greets students with a friendly hello and likes to shake hands of people as they walk in. He is a very friendly guy and you can tell he wants to have a relationship with his students. As students walk in they see that there are colored little half sheets of paper on the front table. These colored sheets means there is a quiz at the beginning of class. He tells all who walk in before the clock strikes 5:00 that they should take a look at Benson's talk (meaning the test will be taken from what Benson said in the readings). Before starting a lesson or a quiz, Brother Dorius ask a few students to volunteer to play the piano, lead music, and say a prayer. At 5:00 the class starts immediatley and the piano player starts playing and the other volunteers take their turn to complete their tasks. After the prayer is said, simple one question quizzes are handed out, and then turned in within the next 5 minutes. Once quizzes are turned in Brother Dorius quickly goes over the quiz question which was from the reading and smoothly transitions into the lesson.
Brother Dorius starts the lesson with a disclaimer that this lesson will be somewhat akward for many of us, married or not. I am glad that he said this, he said that he will only talk about what he can, but many things he is not allowed to go into great detail. It was good that he said this because it made it known to everyone that this is not a lesson to make anyone feel out of place but for everyone to have a better spiritual understanding of the topic.
The subject is introduced with his powerpoint presentation. The powerpoint presentation is full of inspirational and great words from the prophets and their take on the subject. Though many of the quotes are in the Marriage and Family manual, Brother Dorius expands on the quotes and gives a better understanding of what they mean and how they can apply to us. Brother Doruis allows for questions and shares stories of his own experience or past students who have asked questions that might be of interest for us to hear on this subject.
Brother Dorius loves to share stories of personal experience. Though he does not go into great detail he loves to share stories about his wife. It is quite obvious that he is still in love with his wife and loves sharing something about her any chance he gets. It is very inspiring for students to hear that he is not the spiritual giant but that his wife is. Especially since he is the religion teacher, it amazing that he still believes that he is not perfect in any way and he thinks his wife is really the one who is.
While he taught, Brother Dorius did his best to teach students through various ways. As a class, we read from the Marriage and Family manual and scriptures. The power point presentation was used the most, and would usually have students read the quotes from the prophets. Discussion was used as well as examples that students could relate to and understand. Learning in such a manner really helped students understand as they read an official statement from the book and then heard an example and wrote it down and then found an example in our own lives. This method really reinforced the students’ learning.
What is great about Brother Dorius is his spunk and his overall happy facade. He is very positive about any subject he teaches. He keeps subjects spiritual when they need to be and when he can have a good time, he does. Brother Dorius' experience as a Bishop and as a Marriage counselor have influenced the way he talks about subjects about marriage. He uses past experiences with couples and the church's beliefs and his beliefs. All his discussions are very interesting and you are always able to learn so much.
Brother Dorius is a great teacher. His experience in his own life, his field of study and church callings have influenced him and have made him a spiritual giant. You can tell that he loves talking about marriage and anything that has to do with it. I love being a student in a class with a teacher who is passionate about the subject he is talking about. It makes learning so much more interesting and much easier. Brother Dorius is a great teacher and I hope to have the same passion that he does in my teacher as a teacher in the years to come.
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