As mentioned earlier, Rex's goal was to get the kids in his class to behave well enough to earn the Traveling Trophy. As Rex took over all the subjects and taught solo for 3 weeks, he received many compliments from other staff members on how much better the kids behaved when out-and-about (traveling from music, P.E., etc.). This really made Rex feel good. But even better was when his class received the Traveling Trophy at the weekly assembly! This, he said, was the feather in his cap, as no one told his supervising teacher "good job" but went straight to him and congratulated Mr. Roberts on the feat no one thought could be accomplished (even stated by the principal). This was fully Rex's doing, as this fell under the duration in which he was completely in charge, and everyone knew that he had done what his supervising teacher had failed to do.
Other things in the classrom have improved somewhat but Rex still feels demoralized, and now stressed, as the end draws near and his assignments/projects loom over his head. He fears he is forgetting the good ideas and strategies he's learned in other classrooms which he has been forbidden to practice in his current setting. While it is true that you can learn a lot from a bad experience and he certainly knows what he will NOT do, he feels this semester has set him back and he will be less prepared for his own classroom. This experience has made him more anxious for his own classroom, but he has lost a lot of the momentum and excitement he had earlier about teaching. Certainly his future class will not be this horrible, but what if it is? His current situation has dampened his anticipation, his enthusiasm, and even his ambition. How can he regain that passion?
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