Interesting !
On the whole I have to say that I find the situation very variable, there are still great amounts of folk lore that seem to be taught as "airmanship" just ask a number of instructors in the flying club when you should lean a Lycoming engine (answers below please) and note the responce.
I have always attempted to keep an open mind when it comes to flying with students and as long as the flight is safe I am happy to let them fly the aircraft any way they like, I might sujest another way to do something after the flight but as has been said above there is more than one way to skin a cat.
The flying instructor population is a strange thing, some young guys who just want to fly an airliner , career instructor group one who are a dedicated sorce of real talent, career instructor group two who are a bunch of guys who will never get an airline job as long as the sun sets in the west and think that the whole flying world has it in for them and instructors who fly for fun.
The trick as a student is to spot the instructor type and dump the instructor quickly if they are not up to scratch. You will get very little trouble from Career instructor group one and instructors who fly for fun (these are normaly retired or current proffesional pilots).
The trouble comes from the young guys who want to be airline pilots (padding out flights with big circuits and long "stableised approaches") because they need the hours however you can also find some very good young instructors who do a fine job within the limmits of there flying experience.
Career instructor group two should be avoided at all costs, they are usualy a talentless bunch of no hopers and this has been spotted by the airlines...... hence no airline job !.
CFI's have to keep a distance as they are responsable for the standards within a club and may seem a bit cold and distant but they are usualy OK as long as the position has not gone to there head.