It may not work well for you; I cannot dispute that.
This methodology works (very well) for me. Perhaps I do not submit references to people who think I am lying directly to their face, or perhaps you have tried this in a low-trust environment where it was not allowed.
Once you graduate and start working in your chosen field, those reference letters will be out of date in a few years, as propective employers don't give a hoot as to how well you did in your 2nd year data structures course. If it's for grad school, then it will be as I said in the vast majority of cases: A direct request soliciting feedback to the faculty member based on credentials you provide.
You have assumed poorly. I’m about fifty and I’m a lawyer. I have also worked in tech. At every stage of my career I have collected letters of recommendation and used them to obtain my next certification or position. I’m not sure what to tell you at this point other than to mention that making assumptions is not a great habit.
I don’t know too much about “grad school” unless you consider law school graduate school, and then I can assure you that zero direct requests soliciting feedback from any faculty member were made during my application process.
I admit that very occasionally someone wants a directly submitted recommendation. When this happens, I email the old recommendation to the old recommender and just ask them to resend it.
This methodology works (very well) for me. Perhaps I do not submit references to people who think I am lying directly to their face, or perhaps you have tried this in a low-trust environment where it was not allowed.