It makes my blood boil to see attitudes like CT's where he claims he wants to do the minimum possible and skate through to his free time

Hahaha! I think there are times when all of us, upon xia-ke (know no hyphen just want to show one of the few Mandarin words I know are inextricably involved) want to repair to the peace of our flats with some alacrity. But the skating may not be concerned teacher's wonted way- he's probably angry at the moment.

Yes, us pretend teachers (including improper ones, haha!) have to be the majority of FT's in China. I'm afraid qualified teachers like yourself would only meet a fraction of China's need. Personally if I do get a Miss Clever-Clogs student asking me a difficult question, I usually say I have that earmarked for another lesson, or something like- gives me chance to research. Though most FT's can teach rudimentary grammar.

Thanks for the offer, but have that Mr Bean episode. The one where he's compromised after leaving the pool. Doing a great job-keep it up.