Agreed!!!!
I haven't instructed in a couple of years but I noticed the same thing with a couple of students. I politely told them that it is a good tool for instrument training but not for private pilot training. If this didn't work, the sticky notes came out (I was too cheap to buy those things that cover up instruments). Before they new it, sticky notes on every single instrument minus the airspeed indicator.
The most annoying thing was when they told me they did the lesson already on MS Flight Sim the day before the lesson.