From time to time I check in here to peruse the latest rants and it's amazing how they never seem to change. "Chinese schools exploit foreign teachers" followed up with the inevitable "well, take your incompetent ass back to your home country." I've been in China on and off since 2001 and I really don't care if I annoy people by making a few observations,in no particular order:

1. A very large percentage of "white" foreign teachers here, are, indeed completely incompetent. I'm in a small city and don't see many white foreigners but when I do I'm usually underwhelmed.

2. With #1 being said, very few FT's of any ilk are here because they are genuinely concerned with education. I'll estimate that 90% or more were not educators at home, no matter where "home" happens to be. Most FT's are here because they want an adventure, want to save a bit of money or because they enjoy being "special." I'll admit freely I like the attention lavished on me by pretty young Chinese women.

3. Few of the foreign "teachers" here will admit, to either themselves, or others, that they are not really here for the self-righteous reasons they claim. I'll admit freely I'm here because I'm a lazy bastard who can live pretty decently while "teaching" only 2-4 hours a day. In all the time I've been here I've yet to meet another white foreigner who will come right out and say that, though to me it's so obvious that for many of them it's true. I'm sure I'll get a lot of howling responses to this but most FT's here who are older than say, 30, or are here longer than ,say, a year or 2 are either escaping from something at home or have nothing worthwhile to go home to. Why would anyone from a "Western" country stay in this filthy, polluted place if they had a decent alternative? If you're married to a Chinese I can almost understand it but I'm sure your Chinese spouse only married you to get the hell out of this country and is probably secretly annoyed you're still here.

4. The gravy train will slow down considerably after the Olympics and foreign teachers are not as "needed" as they are now. I've noticed that the government is already beginning to crack down on FT's who don't have the proper visa. This annoys me because I'm here on an "F" and I've been illegally freelancing for more than a year. I just had my visa renewed and was asked many questions I'd never been asked before. Some were totally irrational like, "Exactly what are you DOING here anyway? " Can you believe that? What gall! I'm thinking that China will soon go the direction of Japan, Taiwan, South Korea and even Thailand and start requiring things like a degree for FT's. Right now the bureaucrats are busy with Olympic preparations but I firmly believe that when that is behind us those of you without degrees will have a lot of trouble finding real work here. You know who you are. Either get hitched to a local or start making travel plans.
I also can't help but notice that the ease, or difficulty, of procuring a visa is directly tied to one's country's current political relationship with the Chinese government. Yes, if you haven't already guessed, I'm American. We're not real popular presently. I've no doubt that in the future other countries, particularly those alarmed with China's environmental and economic policies, will some day end up on the list along with America and be officially harassed as well. It's only a matter of time.

5. The notion of beginning a "union" of FT's is intriguing but, in the end, absurd and impractical. It's a akin to illegal immigrants at home attempting to unionize.

I have to go teach a class of spoiled, rich 11 year-olds so I have no time to continue this diatribe. You can begin calling me names whenever you want. I've developed quite a thick skin . (Mostly because I'm called "fat" to my face pretty much every day here.) I'm actually somewhat "content" here and am not looking forward to the day when I'll either have to get a much lower-paying job at a real school or leave the country. I actually do have a degree and was a teacher at home for years so I think if I really want to stay here I probably can. I'm not so sure that's true for many other FT's.