You're quite right; those who would be screeners are would be screeners. Seriously, though, I think it's safe to say that a little more discretion would go a long way. It's not that they're incapable of making informed decisions, it's simply that they don't care enough to give it the necessary attention. As long as they've got a reasonable facsimile of an FT in front of the class, that's all that really matters to them. If there are problems that arise, they will or will not deal with them later. More often than not it's about damage control rather than doing what's best for the students in the first place.

You're also quite right about textbooks. Yes, they are almost always too advanced; moreover, since they are rarely edited or proofread properly, there are numerous mistakes in them. Also, there is a huge need for more authentic material in Chinese classrooms. My guess, though, is that those who make the decisions regarding what textbooks to purchase are getting lucrative kick backs on the books they choose. Hard to get past that kind of corruption. Of course, they will rarely ask advice from FTs about material selection. I guess that would mean admitting that they're not capable of making those decisions without the assistance of a foreign teacher. Can't have that, can we?

Then of course there's curriculum development. What could a well trained, experienced FT know about that? Not much I guess. I was, however, allowed to pilot a course of study last year that went over very well with the students. By the time the second term rolled around, though, I ended up having to teach all 15 classes myself because the two other teachers who had been teaching it with me felt unqualified to do so. Sadly, they wouldn't put in what little effort would have been required for them to be effective and threatened to quit if they were made to continue teaching that subject. This year, the students were hoping to continue with the same course of study; however, the Dean shot it down because he was afraid there would be a repeat of teachers refusing to teach it after they found out it wouldn't be the standard "talk and chalk" teaching that virtually anyone with a degree of any kind can pull off with a little practice.

Yes, maybe next year at the new job, things will be a little better. In fact, the Dean there has already assured me that I can get involved with some projects that interest me and that I feel would be beneficial to the students. However, you're right, the Chinese are great at saying yes. That often means they want to think about it more or they would rather not say no with the hope that the subject won't come up again. Of course if you call them out on that, the reply is usually that you don't understand Chinese culture - or something like that.