Howard Miller

Five years into his retirement, Howard Miller describes that he never expected this part of his life to turn out the way it has - but, then who does? Howard Miller and his family had hosted ESL students for 9 years, opening his home to 14 students from Japan, Korea , and China before he considered the possibility of teaching English as an alternative career in his retirement. Last summer, when he opened the newspaper, and the course offerings for the U of W fell open to the ESL TCP page, the course of his retirement completely changed. After a short chat with the Program Coordinator and other U of W staff, he registered for the Fall 2009 term.

Before Howard’s retirement, he was the Provincial Coordinator of Deaf and Hard of Hearing Programs for Manitoba Education. His 38 year career involved the instruction of Deaf students using American Sign Language as the first language, and English taught as a second language. As well, Howard and his wife, Yvonne Peters, a blind lawyer in Winnipeg, recently celebrated their 36th anniversary.

After graduating from the program, an ESL TCP instructor forwarded an advertisement for a part-time position offered through the Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization of Manitoba (IRCOM) to Howard that involved working with a blind refugee on settlement issues; he immediately applied for the position. Being hired for this position has resulted in a rewarding and challenging experience, Howard relays that his life experience in adapting for students with special needs, and his formal training through the ESL TCP gave him the necessary skills and resources to complete this job effectively.

Now, as he explores the field of ESL instruction and, as his life adventure continues, he says he is indebted to the U of W staff, his fellow classmates, as well as the international students he observed or taught, for their influence in “changing his life”.