I hear you all for sure. This is a topic dear to me, a a former school system employee (I didn't have a classroom, but was a teacher of sorts for the home-bound (sick) students). I just wanted to add that at least in my experience, there are SO many teachers that want to do things much more the ways you all want to do them! They teach, in part, so they can have at least some influence in those directions on children (and some hope to influence the system, too) They sneak in exercises in critical thinking, yoga/breathing techniques under different names so as not to "alert" any parent that would freak out about (nothing) something as subversive as yoga or meditation being taught in schools (!), they take that time to TALK to kids, 1 on 1.... I like that I know there are people within the system (the system that won't be going away, sadly) sort of 'infiltrating' with that love and vision and encouragement to think and do things even that little bit different (all while somehow managing those crazy 25-35+ student classroom, ridiculous standardized testing schedules, teaching curriculums they increasingly have less & less say over how & what it taught, etc...) but still, there, planting seeds....