I have PS Elements 9 for editing.  But I suck at it lol I have been reading up and practicing some though.  It frustrates me.  
I will try to shoot something in RAW again and upload it...it has been a while since I tried and I can't even remember why, but just remember that my computer did something funky when I tried to put them on. 
Have you checked for a local course on Elements 9?  Or, perhaps, a class at/through a local community college?  When I was first trying to get a handle on Photoshop I took an online course through the local community college and that helped a lot.  There are also a lot of online classes and tutorials that can be found.