I think that there's some truth to what the Reflections poster was saying. I don't think that black teachers in China are better than white teachers but I think that just like what is often the case back in my home country, blacks ARE often held to higher standards than whites.

In many job sectors back in Blighty it is well known that blacks often have to work two or three times harder than their white colleagues if they want to hold on to their jobs. I've personally experienced this, myself.

I don't agree with affirmative action policies. I think that they're contradictory. The idea is to get RID of discrimination not replace it with another form. It also breeds resentment; producing more racist attitudes and tension. I understand why affirmative action exists, though; as a backlash against discrimination that was often extreme.

Some on here were saying that if you don't like the policy in China, leave. I agree! China is what it is! I don't agree with their discriminatory policies, but if I couldn't get a job here because of my skin colour I would simply leave them to it, and go to another country that more appreciated what I had to offer. On the other hand, people in Western countries who feel resentful about affirmative action policies, also need to accept, that is how things are. If you don't like affirmative action in your country, just leave!

Anyway, there isn't blanket discrimination here, and that is good. SOME schools being discriminatory actually help in selecting a good school to work for. A school that would refuse to employ somebody because of their skin colour, alone, identifies itself as one that is hardly worth working for, anyway, because there isn't any good reason for a GOOD school to have such a policy. Because there are so many poor schools in China the selection process for a foreign teacher, especially a black one, is made much easier by blatant actions that clearly highlight that certain schools are not serious about education; colour bars being one of them. I've worked for a lot of schools that employed black teachers and having black teachers did not stop those schools from prospering. The reason why the school prospered was just as likely due to the efforts of the black teachers, than the white ones.

"Don't want black teachers? Good riddance! Next!"