Framer,
I do agree with your comments with some variations.
TEM always had a name, it used to be Called common sense, and it is the nuts and bolts of being a pilot. The longer you are around, logically, the more you experience and hopefully you learn to recognize "threats" "errors" and you manage to avoid or handle them.
Having said that TEM should not be limited to aviation. Crossing a road, opening a can or turning on the TV all have elements of TEM in them, I may write to the education department suggesting they add it to their syllabus.
Good parents, good instructor/ training pilot would cover the TEM issues without using the term in the past and that's what's changed from my point of view, especially with the modern equipment. Pilots are taught how to manipulate the box, not manage the aircraft, and that includes TEM.
Your company sounds like they have formalized it considerably better than mine, no surprise there. Like I said, we spent a few hours learning some terms, not a practical point made.
I agree and id suggest that the younger guys may get more out of it than I did. 34 years since I started flying and I believe I have used the concept of TEM without formalizing a name for it.
It's a bit like ADHD, there has always been badly behaved children, recently some one dreamt up a name to explain it. Hasn't made it disappear though