If you know any 1st-8th grade teachers who teach that way, direct them to https://www.amazon.com/dp/0133768937/ (or a previous edition). It’s entirely possible to teach elementary mathematics in a problem-centered, student-centered manner.
The problems start long before high school, and by high school it’s hard to fix anything, since teachers have limited time and huge pressure to cram many topics into a few years, and a population of students who have already had the natural curiosity bashed out of them.