Having been taught the wedge as a new skier, it has been HORRIBLY HARD to get rid of.
I still don't understand why beginners are taught a movement they ultimately need to get rid of, in order to achieve higher levels of skiing. Yeah, I've heard the "get on the slope any which way you can" rationalization.
But that is just a rationalization. It is a real disservice to new skiers to teach them a dead end movement, IMHO.
Maybe your progression above doesn't inculcate the wedge as deeply as other first lessons do.
I wish I had never been shown that as the primary ski movement.
When I learned to ski, many ski area's offered "Learn To Ski" weeks, 5 day mid-week instruction with the same instructor for 5 days. For at least my first 5 years, I'd attend one each year, and, even later would return to ski schools for shorter periods during vacation weeks. One benefit of Harald's PMTS classes includes that type of extended learning, permitting any level to advance. Sure, pencil skis made skiing more difficult and modern ski equipment makes it easier, but, ski instruction for continuing education and improvement is dying due to time constraints, low benefit and cost. Most people I know just want to ski and have fun, technique - who cares? In the three technique-centered sports I've learned (tennis, golf and skiing), it's pretty much the same. Homemade technique rules!
Contrast JB's comment the never-never's spend very little time actually skiing on the first day with Bush's comment that in two hours some may get to a gliding, centered-stance, actual skiing. What percentage of the public, especially younger people, would pay and return to a second of non-skiing instruction? To return to the OP, I'd love to see the progressions of Welsh Village's PMTS based new skier instructions. It's an experiment, in the sense that PMTS gets introduced into a mass-market ski area with an instructional team that is less qualified, and, perhaps, less committed to the technique.
Converting 70 PSIA trained instructors WILL have it's share of challenges.Trust me on that one, I spent several years working as a "organizational change" manager. I wonder if Welsh Village would trade lift tickets for my consulting services (and I'm not talking about technique consulting) .
Riding chairlifts, standing on the first tee or watching local tennis, I'm totally judgmental about crappy technique. But that's more a statement about what I value, if someone is out-there having fun, good for them.
And, BTW, I've always been proud that many years ago, at my first "Learn to Ski' week, I made parallel turns after a few days, no small feat back in the day.