On the flip side of that, though, it has caused them to hesitate or balk altogether at the idea of firing a teacher who has proven himself or herself to be totally inappropriate.

Ah yes,you're either a self-appointed expert of what defines a 'totally inappropriate teacher' or you think the Chinese are capable of making that judgment accurately.Drawing lines in the sand to separate the various degrees of inappropriateness of inappropriate teachers is very subjective and difficult in my opinion,unlike convicting a criminal in the light of his (or her) DNA found at a crime scene.
And you have failed to mention that Chinese students are given forms to complete as to what they think of their teachers.Of course,students are the best qualified to be the judges of their teachers,especially toddlers,who are the wisest of them all due to life experience(sic for those non-discerning readers among us).Too much emphasis is placed here on students' assessments of their teachers.What a lousy system!
By the way,I think inappropriate is an inappropriate word here.Replace it with incompetent!