I think what Emily is trying to say, Dekka, is that she will let people use the tools they want to train their dog
if it is working. Obviously, if it isn't in the best interest of their partnership, then
it isn't working.
For example, let's say I was a student in Emily's class.
Sadie, the guide dog pup I raised, was taught to walk on a loose leash via a Gentle Leader. If I were in Emily's class, she wouldn't tell me to NOT use one because, with Sadie, it worked. She was happy, I was happy, our training went about at a great pace, and we had fun. Sadie has now been a guide dog for four years.
Now, I tried to use the the Gentle Leader on Chloe as a pup and Chloe FLIPPED. It made her more reactive, it caused her stress levels to spike, and she shut down. She was miserable, I was frustrated, and training stalled. If we were in Emily's class, she would say, "The Gentle Leader isn't my first choice because of XYZ, why don't you try XYZ instead?" (In Chloe's case, I switched from the GL to a prong and it solved all of the problems we were having. Now, of course, we don't need the prong, just as Sadie is a guide dog without using a GL.)
Thus,
With Sadie, our need was met with a head halter. With Chloe, our need was met with a prong. Two different dogs, two completely different temperaments/stability levels, two different situations, two different tools used. On its own, one was not more right or wrong than the other, but when used in conjunction with a dog one was clearly a better choice than the other for that dog.
So, if someone is using a method that you aren't 100% fond of but the dog and handler are having fun and making progress...who are you to say that the method shouldn't be used?
I should also add that how comfortable the handler feels using a certain method is important. If I was hesitant/unsure/unhappy about using the GL or the prong, then that would most likely have effected how I worked with it, which would have then transferred over to the dog.
So let's say I'm more comfortable with a GL than I am with a prong. I may get better progress with my dog with the GL than the prong not because of how the tool works, but because I as a trainer am more comfortable and thus able to make better judgement calls (rewards, corrections, whatever) with a certain tool than another.
Now, Emily, if that isn't what you mean...then I apologize.
But that is how I'm reading it.