Working for them is a lot like being in a communist setting. Keep your head down, do as your told, and things will go well. I cannot express how many times differences of opinion weren't tolerated when coming from teachers, even when it was legitimate. If you don't stir it up, then you'll be fine.

Exactly the situation you will find when working for most EFL employers here across the straits in the PRC. However, that takes some getting used to for many westerners, including myself. Having said that, being amiable under all and any circumstances is the way to go to survive here trouble-free. Be like the three wise monkeys, 'see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil', and you'll be tolerated even though you're a duffer as a teacher. Keep your head down, and you'll get that all-important satisfactory, or even slightly complimentary, release letter when you have to move on to your next second-rate Chinese employer at the conclusion of each of your teaching contracts.

During my travels in China from school to school, I've come across many wily white losers from the west adhering to the above mode of behavior. Useless individuals can make good money here year after year by being masters of deception. Befriending their students, never making waves, and being seen to be doing though not actually doing, are their tactics. There you have it, newbies, that's the way to survive here in the PRC - a paradise for white western backpackers who've been lackeys and total losers back home. Welcome you to China!