The instructors are teaching what you need to know to pass the academy course. They are required to hold endorsements for the airspace/aerodromes they are teaching and are themselves checked regularly similar to field controllers. They also undergo an instructor's course before starting in the classroom/simulator. They have also seen the simulator exercises a number of times so they can concentrate on what you need to learn and teach to that, knowing where the "traps" are and assess your handling.
But how does any of that address the transition from college to real world? How does it address the relatively high failure rate of trainees in the field in recent years? Maybe it's getting better but there seems to have been a large disconnect between what's required in the college & what's required in the field. Is the training missing the mark? Certainly looks that way from personal observation. More focussed on throughput than quality?
I've sat behind very experienced controllers who have been away from active traffic for prolonged periods doing roving checks & such & the loss of skill is positively frightening.
Approaching the course with your "far from ideal" is not the way to start.
You said it brother!