I don't know where you've been observing, but you haven't been in any schools I've been in. Few teachers still lecture by the hour or use worksheets to death these days. I've taught in 6 schools now in my career and subbed in another 10, and I haven't seen that style of teaching in a long time.
Group work? Really? I learned about that in my education classes back in the 1990s. We all use it and continue to tweak it and make it better. We don't have lesson plans? Really? Have you seen the latest mandated lesson plan forms districts require? That second to last paragraph seriously made me laugh out loud. That is exactly what we do, and everyone in my school has had many, many hours of training on it, is observed regularly to make sure we're doing it, etc.
For crying out loud, come visit my class any time you want. Oh, and the reason most schools gave up the block wasn't because of teacher issues but because of credits and dealing with the need for year-round classes for the core subjects and a few others while trying to figure out how to fit in things like foreign language, music, art, and the extras that parents and students expect and demand. Trust me: scheduling nightmare.
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