"I would wager there are not many teachers in China with so much as a Bachelor of Arts in English, or anything relating to it, I met some teachers with only high school education, nothing more".

I have to say I have met a good few FT's in China without so much as an O level, let alone a degree (well,most have been to Bangkok University) My observations of these teachers were that they were perfectly adequate to fulfil the requirements of Chinese schools, and indeed a few were better teachers than myself by far. On the other hand I have met a good few FT's bristling with degrees, yet had a much weaker grasp on English than their colleagues working on degrees purchased down the Khaosan Road. Some little 22 year old girl fresh from some run of the mill university in Pennsylvania is not going to have anywhere near the command of English that a 45 year old well-read ex-plumber turned FT from Watford England. When we talk about teaching English in China we are talking about Oral English(mostly)-Just turn up on time and open ypur mouth will do nicely.

Speaking about punctuality and being fined for lateness, it's very often not the FT's fault. Say you work for a recruitment/teacher supply agency-they will give you a timetable every week-Two middle schools and a normal university for example, all miles apart. These schools are so vast in China that you really need about three months to learn where all your classes are. You look at your timetable, you have junior 5 at 0800 followed by junior 6-IS junior six the next class along? No it bloody well aint in China, it's miles away on the fifth floor in another buiding and you have just ten minutes to find it. You eventually flustered and out of breath locate it-if you are on time sods law has it that this lesson is cancelled and your York type employers haven't bothered to inform you. You then hang around hostile cold corridors for two hours waiting for your next class-when that's done you have an hour to get to your next school-all the buses overloaded with spitting commuters, so after consulting your timetable and going up and down multiple corridors and stairs you find you are on the fourth floor of one block when you should be on the 1st of another one. You should get a bonus if you are never late not a fine if you are.