Educating a Baby to Grow into an 'British Gentleman' – Is It Worth the Cost?

"A household residing in the northern part of London is looking for an exceptional and experienced instructor to support their smallest child on his early path to becoming an British gentleman."

Upon seeing this advertisement, you might naturally overlook the wording "beginning" as just figurative language.

However, it might be the most important part of this unusual job advert, as it attempts to recruit a tutor for a one-year-old.

Many of responses have now been received since the unidentified family posted their call for the highly paid tutor, who has to be "someone very special".

In recent few weeks, the post has gained attention across the press, with several asking why?

Innovative Idea

The CEO, CEO and founder of an education consultancy, which is supporting the family in their hunt, said that notwithstanding early skepticism, he viewed the idea "far sighted", and "advanced".

When he spoke with the family, he mentioned they appreciated the atypical aspect of their request, and how early in age their son is.

Nevertheless, they stated that they "were unwilling to delay any longer" to engage a tutor, as they had waited until their elder sibling was five, and by that point "cultural influence had already set in".

But what did the family refer to by "cultural predisposition"?

It's "all-encompassing", Adam replied. "How you eat, how you speak".

He stated the elder child had absorbed "really subtle, non-verbal cues" from the family, and had assumed their cultural norms. The family explained to Adam they hoped to prevent history to happen again with their infant.

The intention: To bring in a British tutor, who must speak with RP, to guide the baby from the very start.

Subtle Influence

"A lot of the education at the start here is rather acquired indirectly," stated the expert.

It's via this natural absorption that the family are aiming the child will pick up the British traits they wish to instil.

He said the tutor had to be someone who studied at "prestigious academies – the same kinds of schools as the family aspire to send their son to".

"The tutor must be the appropriate candidate, they'll be performing things they may not realize they're doing, simply by nature," he commented.

Money No Object

The family explained to Adam the chosen tutor should preferably also have knowledge of or passion in equestrian activities, winter sports, the arts and music so as to shape the child in a broad spectrum of interests.

Furthermore though, he stated the family hoped the tutor to register the child on a range of classes so the child would be "pony-riding and learning an instrument by the time they are around three years old".

In the family's perspective, assisting their son become a "British gentleman" will lead to success and open doors.

"Considering the rights and wrongs of that, because it's definitely a class statement," he notes.

Yet, in spite of all this tutelage in "Britishness", would the child absorb so-called cultural bias from the multicultural family he resides with anyway?

"Yes", replied he. "The family understand this may not work, but they've merely embraced the attitude of, 'let's give it a go and we should start as soon as we can', because the expense of it is not relevant," he said.

Idealistic and Unrealistic

There are some in the tutoring industry who have these reservations.

An education leader, chief executive of Blue Education, who provides individual instructors, wrote that "the process of adopting dual cultures, or indeed, forming one's identity, is something that must be experienced personally, not manufactured."

He wrote that he had relocated from China to the UK at the time of childhood, and had been educated understanding and embodying two backgrounds. He progressed to study at Cambridge University.

"The idea that a single person can act as a living vessel of UK identity, an individual who can in some way impart the characteristics of a UK sophisticate onto a infant child, strikes me as naive and unfeasible," he commented.

"From my perspective, engaging a quintessentially British tutor from babyhood will not instantly create the goal they want.

"I did not have that kind of mentor, and however I have been lucky enough to enjoy several of the situations they hope for their son."

He added: "The truth is, cultural identity should not be imposed from the outside; it must be selected, and it must come from within."

Purchasing UK Culture

Certainly, Britishness is something the CEO thinks can be taught – and sold.

"I think the reality that the international society holds us in this respect is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating