Having a degree does not automatically qualify you to teach and the persistent assumption that somebody with a degree in, oh, let's say fashion, is any more qualified to teach English than Joe Bloggs off the street is is frankly ludicrous.

Neither should be teaching. In an ideal world every teacher would have a degree relevant to the subject that they teach, an additional teaching qualification such as the PGCE and if they are teaching ESL then a L2 teaching certification such as a CELTA. And like any teacher should complete ongoing training and development to keep their skills sharp.

But this is not an ideal world and reprehensible leeches like SB can waltz in to a classroom in Asia and pretend to teach English. In Europe they wouldn't even get a foot in the door of a reputable school. So with that in mind, I really don't see the point in making a distinction between the degreeless and the irrelevant degree holder. Neither is suitable to teach.

SM made the mistake recently of saying he didn't bother with sixth form, where you sit A-Levels, which is what gains you admission to university. And he had no idea what an access course was back when I mentioned it, so unless there is another route to university it doesn't sound like he went at all! Does your philosophy of degreeless teachers being unwelcome here extend to him too, I wonder?