hey everyone, i think im at the end of my tether here and would like some advice on setting boundaries and reclaiming my time without shooting myself in the foot.
im from london and i was given the opportunity to do a 3 month teaching placement via a British company who sends teachers to different schools. Most of my colleagues are in schools with a chill schedule, the most strenuous one being 5 days a week, 4 hours a day, with no active teaching. Mine on the other hand…
Sometimes pulls me in on weekends to cover for teachers who feign sickness, force me to come into observations that end at 11pm that have no relevance to my students (this started when they dumped 5 different classes on me with minimal preparation) and start classes at 8am. I'm put in charge of grown adults English learning when I don't KNOW how to teach and they have important exams coming up. I'm so depleted, mentally drained, and my flare-ups are starting again. I'm feeling unstable like I did in London and I haven't got a chance to switch off and explore my new town. The British company during my introduction to this school was pressing the director to make sure I have enough free time to enjoy the city as part of the cultural exchange programme and made us both sign a contract that I wouldn't work more than 30 hours a week (I was a bit suspicious as this is an unpaid internship) but they're not breaching contract. It's just mad meetings and classes and planning scattered throughout the week leaving me exhausted. I can't even deliver lessons because I'm so shaky.
I'm worried that if I start laying down boundaries, the director will complain to the company and terminate my internship. But so far I've been attending and giving good classes.
My plan is to arrange a meeting with the British company and ask them what I'm reasonably allowed to refuse as I'm really not taking the piss, but I need to take care of myself. So in that case if I refuse to substitute another class and the director complains about me, the placement company will already know I've flagged up unfair treatment.
Sorry about the ramble, but I'm at a loss here. What do I do?
TLDR: unpaid internship taking the piss, I don't want my trip to end, what can I do?