Aerin Bender, BA, MTS, MAT

University of Louisville, Duke University and the University of Southern California
I spent 15 years in another profession before giving in to a lifelong desire: to become a teacher.  English Language Arts.  So I quit my job, got another Master's degree, and became a teacher to middle school English Language Learners in Denver. I moved into a high school role for logistical reasons - and once I decided to teach freshman English, I was hooked.  

I brought many skills from my first profession to this one.  I have an International Baccalaureate diploma, a Bachelor's degree in English, and two graduate degrees.  I can recite most Disney movies by heart (and any Disney movie made prior to 2000.)  I love to read, and I would prefer you just navigate away now if you actively dislike Harry Potter. 

My Favorites:
​The Basics

COLOR: Blue

COLD DRINK: Iced Passion Tea

HOT DRINK: Decaf Skinny Mocha

​BAND: My Chemical Romance

MUSICAL: "Les Miserables"

SEASON: Autumn

PLACE TO VISIT: King's Canyon, NT, Australia

​SPORT: Basketball

My Favorite YA Books, A-Z

Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, The - Sherman Alexie
Book of A Thousand Days, The - Shannon Hale
Company of Swans - Eva Ibbotson
Danny the Champion of the World - Roald Dahl
Ear, The Eye and The Arm - Nancy Farmer
Finnikin of the Rock - Melina Marchetta
Girl of Fire and Thorns, The - Rae Carson
Holes - Louis Sachar
If I Stay - Gayle Forman
Just Ella - Margaret Peterson Haddix
Kat, Incorrigible - Stephanie Burgis
Little Women - Louisa May Alcott
Monster - Walter Dean Myers
Nascenza Conspiracy, The - V. Briceland
Outlaws of Sherwood - Robin McKinley
Prophecy - Ellen Oh
Quidditch Through the Ages - J.K. Rowling
Revolution - Jennifer Donnelly
Swiftly Tilting Planet, A - Madeline L'Engle
Trickster's Queen - Tamora Pierce
Under the Never Sky - Veronica Rossi
Vespertine, The - Saundra Mitchell
Westing Game, The - Ellen Raskin
X Isle - Steve Augarde
Year of the Griffin, The - Diana Wynne Jones
Z - Michael Thomas Ford

Photo Album