There may be times when it is appropriate, but it should be avoided as a primary means of instruction. Students should experience teaching methods they are likely to find in college. Lecture is a convenient way to dispense facts. Lecturing feeds the ego. Especially if the classes are large, lecture is a way to keep students quiet and minimize discipline problems.
Teachers lack adequate preparation time.
In a time where there are still teachers afraid of computers, it may be folly to expect this kind of reform overnight. Some are, however, losing their effectiveness in the classroom as today's students continue to be more sophisticated and the solutions for reaching ALL students continue to be more complex. I'm interested in your perspectives on the role of parents and their apparent emphasis on textbooks. I suspect that the parents who feel capable of providing assistance are also the most vocal in perpetuating an educational system that most closely resembles the one in which they were successful. The parents represent a tough obstacle in making the initial shift to inquiry.