Teachers are not fully equipped with the knowledge needed to accept change. Teachers repeat what they have learned and seen from their teachers and this follows the same vicious cycle. Children have to sit still and repeat like parrots because it's convenient for the teacher and the control he/she gets to delegate over them. It's easier to put children on medication so then the teacher and the parents do not have burdens. Technology is still taking a backseat and children are expected to find whichever card is dealt at them, interesting. It's a burden for teachers and parents to provide the necessary attention to learners because they are in a rush to complete schedules. This has to change and it needs to start changing at home. Homeschooling can only be useful if there is support at home.
I wouldn't place the blame on the teachers, they are just as frustrated as the kids I'm sure. The problem is that no one from the inside can really challenge the status quo. Any experimenting is timid tweaking rather than radical rethinking. Ironically because the people produced by the system itself don't tend to be creative risk takers, that is kind of bred out of the population. So I doubt change will happen from within.
EDIT sorry forgot the homeschooling, that can be a solution but obviously some parents will be better capable than others. There should be a support structure for home schoolers which helps out where necessary but which is able to step back and let things take its course. This controlling element especially is one of the aspects which I think dooms the education system to mediocrity. By forcing people to meet the standard, only a very narrow spectrum of development is addressed to the detriment of so much diverse human potential...
No, the teachers can't be blamed solely, of course not, but they have no means to do thing differently because they are not told to do things differently. A certain way of doing thing gets comfortable and prevents change from happening. The comfort zone - afraid of change, like you said now : "don't tend to be creative risk takers". Parents lately have far more better things to do than to educate their children, do not talk to them about anything and just scroll up and down Facebook, ignoring the children to bring themselves up. This is why I say, it needs to change at home.
that part is certainly true, for most people homeschooling is an out of reach luxury. Probably community schooling is an approach that makes more sense, depending on your community of course
Let me rather say, the FIRST step would be a change in the home. From there, every other step can be worked on.