What Max says is bang on: it's not mix and match. I tried last season to take kids who had been wedgers and were struggling to get from the wedge into the "intermediate turn"= skidded turns. They had been tapping the inside foot and all that stuff with mixed results in that they learned how to tap a ski (usually with weight on it ) and when they were trying to then just free ski, NONE of that stuck, and they were stuck wedging.
If I took them for that hour and started PMTS with them, and they got going, at the end of the hour, some would go back to the wedge, and some would continue to move towards DP. It took more than one 1 hour class to get them moved over, and in the meantime, they struggled between two worlds.
So I only taught them DP when I got them on my own and knew I'd have them for several weeks (of 1 hour lessons). Also when I didn't have 2 kids on straight skis, and 2 snow bladers thrown in.
the ones where I would use the "eliminate the wedge" moves and then carry on with DP got results and were happy, and next week they paid more attention, because they were learning and (most importantly for them) they would be able to go for the coveted 'blue sticker' which got them off the bunny hill.
It's a bit like teaching someone from England to drive on the right side of the road, if they don't buy in completely: they end up going down the middle causing accidents.
Last season there was that quoting of figures and stats about how hardly anyone comes back for lessons, and as mentioned previously, the solution was to make the session more fun, or a "vibrant experience". Well, they may have a bouncy, happy instructor, trying to get them to do tap the foot exercises, and paddle the canoe, but they often have a hard time seeing HOW that will relate to skiing. They get stuck on trying to master that one exercise rather than using it to develop the skill to put into the turns. Granted, a good instructor would be coaching, helping and explaining how it helps, but that still leaves the person at the end having gone through a workout, but not stronger.
Ultimately, is sounds a lot like it's a "keep 'em coming back" philosophy to keep the ski school busy, rather than teaching them to ski well, so they keep coming back to the resort to ski because it's all been so positive. Rather than being frustrated, not learning to ski (which is what they really wanted) and going to a different place in search of the holy grail of technique. Hopefully, they won't get totally frustrated and leave the sport altogether. If they make progress and learn, like PMTS students, they will not only come back, but they'll keep taking lessons, and so will their friends who've been told about the place. THAT keeps the ski school, the resort and the sport "happy" with lots of enhanced experiences.
John Icanksi