Well, Choatle, I'm not surprised that you would consider my post as somewhat self aggrandizing, or as you called it, "tooting my own horn." I expected such a reaction. I am, however, surprised that you feel I am unsympathetic to the plight of teachers who are cheated and/or abused. But perhaps in my haste to show both sides of the coin I didn't make that clear enough. So o.k., I do sympathize. In fact, I'm deeply concerned that the EFL scene in China is blighted by the immense numbers of uncaring recruiters and phony baloney training centers.

However much I'm concerned, though, doesn't alter the fact that the system is corrupted by charlatan teachers as well. Having been here for more than four years now I have seen way too many situations where native and non-native English speakers, posing as teachers, have done little in the way of contributing to an atmosphere of excellence in terms of EFL teaching.

Your justification that because schools are only interested in white faces and that therefore it's ok to pretend to be a teacher is convoluted logic at best. In fact, as a parent, I find that kind of argument to border on disgusting. If I had entrusted such "teachers' with the education of my children, I would have to consider myself as having been an inattentive parent. Should I not have the same attitude about the children of China? Or is there some reason that these children deserve less? Moreover, to carry that argument a little further, let me ask you how you would feel if in your country there were only a handful of qualified foreign language teachers and, if you were a parent, how you would feel if pretend teachers were teaching a foreign language to your children. And even more to the point, how would you like it if you were paying good money for their education and then found out that they were being educated by teachers with absolutely no training whatsoever?

All right, you feel as though I have intimated that you personally are not a qualified teacher. I'm not sure how you got that from my post. Reading between the lines? Well Choatle, as we say in America, "If the shoe fits, wear it." As for intimating that there are many unqualified teachers in China - well, no, I'm not intimating it, I'm making it quite clear that I believe and bemoan the reality of it. Furthermore, I'm not just saying that they are not qualified, I'm adamantly espousing my opinion that they are doing more harm than good.

Your suggestion that I have my own agenda is an interesting one. And what do you suppose that agenda is Choatle?