By Sharon Chandler | OBSERVER COLUMNIST

In the coming months, in this column, Yes2Kollege founder and published writer Sharon Chandler will offer you advice for raising your student scholar. This advice can be found in her book, “Say Yes To College: A Practical and Inspirational Guide to Raising College-Bound Kids” with foreword by Bill Cosby. Order online at sayyestocollege.com. We hope you will enjoy, learn and respond to this advise by contacting her at The OBSERVER.

The willingness to learn is the most important single skill we can teach our children. In order to do that we have to possess a curiosity and a desire to know more than we are being told. Parents in my workshops are brought up short at the notion that their video game-playing, I-don’t-care-about-anything child can become an inquisitive, knowledge-seeking person, but I can tell them confidently that it is possible.

The same is true for parents. Parents who are themselves lifelong learners – who read, take classes, and are involved in the community – demonstrate to their children the importance of being in the know at any and every age.

I have always valued the power of education. My children heard from both their father and me how important it is to continue to learn, even outside of school. I had clear ideas, very early on, of how I wanted to raise my children. I’ve changed as my children have grown, but never wavered in my core beliefs, that children should be obedient, thoughtful, and encouraged by their parents to do everything that furthers their education. Learning and accomplishment are never ending, and the process of learning is an ability that everyone possesses. It is school and so much more.

Everyday, educators are dealing with African American children whose desire to learn has been squashed. We all know about the terrible-two’s. This time, and the years that follow are nature’s way to instill a curiosity for the child’s surroundings, and for learning.

Sometimes parents can “beat down” a child’s curiosity by telling her “don’t touch”, “be quiet”, “sit down”, “shut up” and all the other phrases that stop them from touching, speaking, tasting, listening, seeing, and exploring the world around them. It’s no wonder that by the time they reach Kindergarten, they lack the desire to try anything new. If a puppy is rapped enough times with a paper, he eventually gets the message. Such is the same with our children.

We should learn by observing other cultures that speak to their children consistently. Observe them in the grocery store or at an event and how they are constantly explaining and asking questions. They also listen to the child’s responses, leading them on to more questions and answers. This interaction helps teach vocabulary, and thinking skills. In the words of Zora Neale Hurston: “There are years that ask questions and years that answer”.