Profile: Carolyn Morris

Communication is of vital importance in modern America. Being able to communicate with others not only ensures one’s survival, but also opens up a world of opportunities. People like CHS parent Carolyn Morris work towards providing Syrian refugees these same opportunities and helping them to communicate by teaching refugees the English language.

With no prior teaching experience, Morris became involved with tutoring at the Immigrant and Refugee Women’s Program (IRWP), a local organization founded in 1995 that she had heard about from a friend. The organization offered group tutoring in a classroom setting, and one-on-one tutoring in the woman’s home.

“If you wanted to commit to one-on-one teaching, which could be a little more gratifying, you would take a course. And so I did both; I teach groups and I tutor a woman twice a week for about an hour each time,” Morris said.

Morris began tutoring through Good Neighbor STL, a website that listed out all of the committees and ways to get involved in the Syrian refugee situation, including teaching English. Morris agreed to tutor a Syrian mother of five, who recently moved from Hodiamont to Hazelwood, twice a week. Instantly, Morris fell in love with tutoring, and with the family of the mother she tutors.

“Even if they have just a little, they still are so increasingly appreciative of everything you do. Every time I teach her something she always wants to teach me some Arabic,” Morris said.

However, with Morris’s and her tutee’s busy lives, having a consistent tutoring schedule is difficult.

“A lot of times she cancels a class,” Morris said, “and it’s really important to try to keep consistency, especially since she’s just trying to get those two times a week in.

Many others face this challenge. The IRWP is far away, making it difficult for refugees to show up for group classes. With their family and homes to take care of, going to the Institute is not a realistic possibility for many of these people, especially for women. Through tutoring the refugees gain access to the English language without sacrificing other priorities, such as watching their kids.

“I want them to be self-sufficient so they can do little challenges like going to the pharmacy and getting their pharmaceuticals. I don’t want things to be so hard, it just makes life a lot easier if you know the language of the country you’re in. It also allows them to become friends with people different from yourself,” Morris said.

From her experiences, Morris has gained insight into how Syrian refugees live, and how she can help. By tutoring refugees, both sides have benefited.

“It’s one of those volunteer things that [you] don’t even have to think twice about it. I give way more time to it than I have sometimes because it’s just more important than emptying the dishwasher,” Morris said.