CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- With each day comes another dismal report on the quality of education in our state and nation. Whether it's America's 27th international ranking in math and science proficiency or the "F" for academic achievement Education Week recently handed West Virginia, the system that was once the envy of the world is becoming a cause for embarrassment.

The usual reaction to the latest "Johnny can't read" report is to herd teachers, students, unions, administrators, public officials and parents into a circular firing line. Accusations might feel good temporarily, but the casualty count is too high and prevents any meaningful change to occur.

Equally futile is the understandable urgency to implement new programs and policies to "fix" whatever the latest study tells us is "wrong." Before charging ahead with another "reform," it's wise to take a lesson from anyone who has a renovated an aging home. All the designer wallpaper, fancy woodwork and expensive marble in the world can't fix a house with a crumbling foundation. So, too, in education, we need to take an unvarnished look at the pillars upon which our system is built before flipping through the swatch books.

For all the time and money we spend on education in this country, there is little understanding of how and why American schools were created in the first place. To gain a fuller appreciation, we need to go back about 300 years, when Prussia undertook a system of mandatory public education to consolidate power and identity as it transitioned from a duchy to a kingdom.

Schools were seen as the most effective vehicle for transforming peasants into soldiers and workers and instilling obedience to centralized authority. "(I)f you want to (influence) the students at all, you must do more than merely talk to him, you must fashion him, and fashion him in such a way that he simply cannot will otherwise than what you wish him to will," wrote the German philosopher Johann Gottlieb Fichte.

This approach formed the model for education throughout most of Europe, making its way to the United States after Horace Mann, considered the father of American public schools, traveled to Prussia in 1843. At that time, America was undergoing its own identity crisis as it grappled with a shortage of workers equipped for the demands of the industrial age and growing unease over waves of Irish, Italian and other non-English immigrants. Schools, reformers argued, could not only teach children to read and write, but also help instill loyalty and weaken ties to the old country.

Upon his return, Mann led efforts to establish a system of free, mandatory public education that, while highly laudable, would certainly have received the seal of approval from King Wilhelm II. "Our schools are factories in which the raw product (children) are to be shaped and fashioned," declared Ellwood P. Cubberley in his 1922 book "Public School Administration."

There is no doubt that free public education is one our county's greatest achievements, liberating generations of Americans from the chains of illiteracy and poverty. Our public schools lifted us all, building an educated citizenry and enabling our country to become the world's leading military and economic superpower. Now, more than ever, we must redouble our efforts to invest in education, support teachers and keep the doors to opportunity open to all.

However, in our haste to assign blame or find a quick fix, we have failed to notice that the world and our country have changed in the last 170 years. Just as the shift from an agrarian to industrial age demanded new skills, the dramatic transition to an information economy in a global society requires us to think, learn and work differently. So why are we still educating American children as if they were Prussian serfs?

In addition to academic and technical skills, jobs at every level, from the factory floor to the executive suite, now demand self-initiative, problem-solving and collaboration.

A senior executive at a one of the nation's top energy companies recently told me that her company cannot find enough employees with both the technical and so-called "executive" skills needed today. When you're out at a drill site, stuff happens, she explains. "Parts don't come in, people get sick and not everything goes as planned. We need people who can work together to get the job done without calling the boss every five minutes."

Success today also depends on a lifetime of learning. Globalization and the rise of technology have accelerated the pace of change, transforming our society and creating new jobs, opportunities and challenges. Only those who understand that it is their individual responsibility to adapt and learn will thrive in this age of digital Darwinism.

Just as businesses adopt the best practices of other successful companies, traditional schools could take a lesson from an educational approach that stands apart in fostering the skills that are in such demand today: the Montessori method.

Consider that the founders of Google, Wikipedia, the Sims video game and Amazon, among many others, all attended Montessori schools, distinct learning environments designed to work with, not against, human nature to promote academic excellence, innovation, personal responsibility and a lifetime love of learning.

The Wall Street Journal describes the approach as the "Montessori mystique," while the Harvard Business Review calls the CEOs who run America's top companies the "Montessori mafia."

A recent study of successful executives who had either launched innovative companies or invented new products quantifies the growing anecdotal reports of the value of a Montessori education. As part of their research, Professors Jeffrey Dyer of Brigham Young University and Hal Gregersen of INSEAD surveyed 3,000 global entrepreneurs. They found that the innovators shared two key characteristics: a Montessori background and ability to follow their curiosity.

The educational philosophy is named for Dr. Maria Montessori, the first female physician in Italy, and a pioneer in the study of child development and psychology. A humanitarian and devout Catholic, Dr. Montessori founded the Casa dei Bambini in Rome in 1907, a school in which scientific research informed the subject matter, classroom materials, student-teacher relationship and even the furniture.

Dr. Montessori discovered that young children had an innate curiosity and desire to learn, and believed that the role of the teacher was to guide and nurture, rather than merely impart knowledge.

 "Free the child's potential, and you will transform him into the world," she said.

The Montessori approach up-ends much of what we see in a traditional school. Among her many innovations were grouping children in three-year age cohorts, allowing students to work at their own level and permitting them to explore uninterrupted for up to three hours at a time. At a Montessori school, homework and tests are a means, not an end, and only assigned judiciously.

More than a century later, an estimated 5,000 schools around the world follow the Montessori approach. Many focus on preschool education, while others serve students through grades 12. Most are private, non-profit, non-sectarian organizations, but a growing number of religious and public schools are also adopting the program.

I discovered Montessori schools by accident as my daughter neared her fourth birthday. Born at the end of August, she would have been the youngest in her class, and I was concerned that she would get lost in a pack of larger and louder children. Public school representatives encouraged me to hold her back to give her an edge in academics and sports. However, I knew she was more than ready for classroom learning, so began looking for other options.

My search stopped almost the minute I walked into the Mountaineer Montessori School, adjacent to the University of Charleston in Kanawha City. Founded in 1976, the school offers a full academic program for children from age 3 to 12.

There, I saw two dozen little people ages 3 to 6 captivated in activity that drew upon their desire to explore. I saw a 3-year-old carefully tracing the nomenclature of an animal on his own. I saw "big kids" of five sitting with toddlers to explain lessons or to help count. I saw a lot of smiles.

But what I didn't observe was equally important. Unlike most schools, classrooms were serene. Gold stars and "you are special" posters were nowhere to be found. Children went about their day, calm, content and confident without the need for constant discipline, praise or entertainment.

Much of the teachers' explanation of the Montessori philosophy went over my head, but I knew one thing: I liked what I saw. Looking back, enrolling our child there six years ago was the best decision we've made as parents.

Maria Montessori believed that "(o)ur care of the child should be governed not by the desire to make him learn things, but by the endeavor always to keep burning within him that light which is called intelligence." Lighting the flames of discovery allows children to reach their true potential, respects them as individuals and honors them as unique children of their creator. It also lays the groundwork for meaningful life of growth and success.

Clifton Clark of Charleston says the self-discipline and abstract reasoning skills he developed as a Mountaineer Montessori School student help him be a better person in business and at home.

 "I've always been a naturally curious person, wanting to learn anything I possibly could," says the 32-year-old Clark, who holds JD/MBA degrees and works locally for one of the nation's largest banks. He is active with Generation Charleston, Taste-of-All and the East End Neighborhood Association.

"If find that there are a lot of situations in work and in life in which a person can take the easy way out. I do not approach situations with a 'this is how it has always been done?' view; instead, I approach them with a 'how can this be done better?' view," he says.

Skeptics may attribute the success of Montessori students to their families' socio-economic status, educational attainment and involvement, among other factors. However, a landmark study published in the Sept. 28, 2006 issue of Science magazine found that Montessori can make a difference in the most challenging environments. The study looked at two inner-city Milwaukee schools that drew students from similar low-income neighborhoods.

One school adopted the Montessori method for students starting in pre-K, while the other maintained traditional classrooms. The study found that by age 6, Montessori students outpaced peers on standardized tests in reading and math, "engaged in more positive interaction on the playground and showed more advanced social cognition and executive control."

While their lead in standardized test results leveled somewhat as they completed sixth grade, the Montessori students still "wrote more creative essays with more complex sentence structures, selected more positive responses to social dilemmas and reported feeling more a sense of community at their school."

We are living in a time of change and challenge. Never have the risks been greater nor the opportunities more bright. We can no longer accept a system that leaves potential unrealized and dreams unfulfilled. The United Negro College Fund put it best: A mind is a terrible thing to waste.

There are no easy answers to the staggering problems facing today's schools, and the Montessori approach is not a magic cure-all. Nothing is. However, continuing to remodel education without checking out its foundation and considering all options is an exercise in futility that will only lead to continued academic decline.

As vice president of the Mountaineer Montessori School Board of Directors, I offer an open invitation to our government, education, community and business leaders, and of course to all parents and students, to see for themselves how the Montessori method can light, not extinguish, the spirit of discovery within a child, and free him or her for a life of accomplishment, meaning and service. After 36 years, we have a great story to share and are eager to offer a voice and a hand to our state and community as we come together to create an education system that our children and society deserve.

Zacks is a mother, lawyer, writer and vice president of the Mountaineer Montessori School Board of Directors, MountaineerMontessori.org.