Re: Isolated
I'm not in education, but I did attend school, and comparing my schooling to that of my kids I've came to the same conclusions as you. I've also noticed how drastic my kids favourite lessons can change drastically - it's not the subject, but the teacher (I presume).
Teachers on the whole have became "office workers". Get the box ticked, cover their arse, move on. Whether or not it's their fault or the system (or both), I don't know - I have no visibility of that.
Of course there are some exceptions, to which I make sure they and their superior receive feedback.