While the first part of your post may be interesting reading for some, I don't consider it germane to the issue at hand, so I'll just let that part fly on by.

As for your reference that I'm not familiar with " the situation as it obtains to Chinese grassroots," I'm not quite sure what you are referring to - probably because your English usage is either so far flung as to render your point meaningless, or maybe because it's just over my head. Nevertheless, if you are referring to China's education scene, well, I've been here long enough to have a pretty fair grasp of the issues as they apply from primary school all the way up to the tertiary level.

Your assumption that "my boss" wouldn't hire an unqualified teacher reveals to me that you miss my point altogether. But my meaning is simple enough: English as a Foreign Language is mandatory. There aren't enough qualified teachers to fill the need. Under qualified teachers are therefore hired with the hope that they'll have something in them that drives them toward a goal of being worthwhile teachers. But too often they are Bozos and Bozos do more harm then good. Moreover, whiners, rampant in the internet forums, dissuade an influx of more qualified teachers. And, I might add, teachers who could pull themselves up by the boot straps and take a little time to study so that they could create positive change don't bother. Instead they just accept the free ride and then cry because they're not treated as well as they think they should be. It's always somebody else's fault - not theirs.

Well, as I said before the free ride will soon come to a screeching halt. Yes, as you've implied before, it is not as simplistic as just blaming teachers who are not qualified. As I said in a previous post, it is a multifaceted problem. These days, though, this is my particular ax to grind. Maybe next week I'll start grinding on the recruiters or the private language schools that rip off the hardworking parents of their students by employing some white faced backpacker off the street who couldn't teach their way out of a paper bag. Whoops, there I go again..............