Ir courses are sooo expensive and if some instructor had the neck to say that to me "you'll pick it up as you go along" by christ would (s)he regret the day they ever said that to me...
You are paying someone to teach you and not just truddle along in the hope that you might scrape a pass..bloody cheek
Just goes to show, you have to investigate your schools fully and make sure they are going to give you your proper money's worth as well as top notch training..none of this farting around and not giving briefings etc..