2004-05-02 - 9:22 a.m.

I did it. In spite of getting a cold, and the fact that I had to get up at the crack of dawn to do so, I went and walked in the Revlon Run/Walk 5K with my friend, E. It actually didn�t take too long either, just over an hour and a half (there were about 40,000 other people walking, some with baby carriages, others wheelchairs, and more than one very pregnant woman). All in all, it was fun and I raised $115 for a very worthy cause.

Thank you all who supported me including: my cousins Ei and Reni, Maria and Rachel who've become my friends in spite of having never met me in the flesh, my off-line and also fabulous friends J, S and P, as well as the anonymous giver, whoever you are!

As for my Friday volunteering experiences thus far, they have been overwhelmingly positive. I�ve enjoyed both the kindergarten inclusion class and the first grade self contained class but I think if I had a choice, I�d prefer to teach in a self contained class.

There are far less kids so you can devote yourself to those who need more help. I�m actually glad now that I�m teaching special ed rather than general elementary. Now that I�ve met these kids and seen some of what they are capable of, I realize that they are not all that different from the general ed when they get the kind of support and help that they need. I feel like I can really make a difference with these kids.

Of course, I�m still freaking out a little that in only a few short months I�m going to be the one in charge of these kids. Its so different from any other job I�ve ever had that I have absolutely no knowledge of how to form a lesson plan or how to manage my classroom and keep order.

I�m reading a great book that was recommended to me but I�d love to get one more specific to special ed � but there are just so many different titles out there that I have no idea how to choose. I think I�ll ask the teacher next week if he or she has any suggestions.

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