This might be a clue as to a source of the problem:
[A] CFI who is burdened with enough manuals and syllabi to sink a small boat. That paperwork explains how and what will be taught.
Part of the art of instructing is the ability to distinguish between wheat and chaff and impart an understanding of the relative importance of each. I suspect that these days it’s mostly: Open wide, here comes a fire hose full of stuff to regurgitate at test time.