Andrew,
As with any industry there will always be good and bad practitioners and Strength and Conditioning is no different. You may well have witnessed some poor examples of S&C coaching but all programs are only as effective or ineffective as the coach implementing them.
I for one believe that in many cases the Strength and Conditioning industry has not moved on for the better. Many coaches seem to have moved away from prescribing the Olympic lifts, squats, deadlifts etc to the detriment of their athletes, instead favoring the latest ‘fad’ or trend that promise the world.
I agree with you that we will never learn unless we question others and the beauty of our industry is that there is no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ way. The key, is to find a philosophy that works for you and that you are passionate about so that the athletes that you work with ‘buy’ into it 100%. If then the results are positive then you will be on the right track, if not, it would then be time to re-evaluate and look to a different pathway.
Cheers
Simon