Not a CFI or better, here, just a lowly FAA PPL.
But: seems to me you are all missing the point. The objectives and plans for the lesson should have been reviewed with the student on the ground before walking out to the aircraft.
Doesn't matter if the "academy" is using the building block approach of today, or the laid back "I'll let you do a bunch and be here to keep check" approach we all learned under a while back.
Student has a right to understand the plan and expectations. Doesn't matter if he's 16 or 66. If he's being charged instruction rates, and that's all he did, then he has a legitimate gripe.
Too often in our US system, flight instruction is given by an hour-builder with no skill or training as a teacher.