Coaching a Baby to Grow into an 'British Gentleman' – Does It Justify the Investment?

"A household based in North London is looking for an extraordinary and qualified instructor to support their most junior child on his early path to becoming an British gentleman."

Upon seeing this post, you might readily overlook the term "initial stages" as mere a turn of phrase.

Yet, it may be the most significant aspect of this unusual employment listing, as it attempts to find a mentor for a 12-month-old.

Many of responses have now been submitted since the unnamed family advertised their search for the £180,000 per year tutor, who needs to be "someone very special".

In recent few weeks, the advert has attracted interest throughout the media, with many questioning why?

Progressive Approach

A tutoring expert, CEO and founder of a global tutoring firm, which is helping the family in their search, explained that in spite of early doubt, he considered the idea "forward-looking", and "progressive".

When he spoke with the family, he said they appreciated the unconventional aspect of their request, and how immature their son is.

Nevertheless, they stated that they "didn't want to wait any longer" to engage a tutor, as they had held off until their firstborn was five, and by that stage "cultural conditioning had already set in".

What exactly does the family mean by "cultural bias"?

It's "everything", the expert answered. "The way you eat, the manner you speak".

He stated the older sibling had adopted "very nuanced, unspoken signals" from the family, and had adopted their cultural habits. The family told the consultant they hoped to prevent the same situation to recur with their new baby.

The intention: To engage a British tutor, who needs to speak with Received Pronunciation, to guide the baby from day one.

Subtle Influence

"A great deal of the education at the start here is rather osmotic," said the CEO.

It's via this osmosis that the family are hoping the child will acquire the English characteristics they want to impart.

The consultant noted the tutor had to be someone who attended "the appropriate educational institutions – the same kinds of schools as the family plan to send their son to".

"The tutor must be the appropriate candidate, they'll be carrying out things they aren't even aware they're doing, just naturally," he added.

Expense Not a Factor

The family explained to him the chosen tutor should ideally also have understanding of or passion in equestrian activities, alpine skiing, the arts and musical activities so as to shape the child in a broad spectrum of passions.

Furthermore though, he stated the family hoped the tutor to register the child on a selection of classes so the child would be "horseback riding and starting an instrument by the time they are about three years old".

In the family's minds, helping their son develop into a "English gentleman" will bring about achievement and provide access.

"Taking into account the advantages and disadvantages of that, because it's definitely a class statement," he adds.

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

"Absolutely", answered he. "The parents realize this could fail, but they've merely embraced the attitude of, 'we should try and let's go as quickly as we can', because the price of it is irrelevant," he explained.

Idealistic and Unrealistic

There are some in the private teaching field who share these doubts.

Another CEO, chief executive of Blue Education, who supplies individual instructors, stated that "the development of embracing two identities, or indeed, discovering oneself, is something that must be experienced personally, not manufactured."

He wrote that he had moved from China to the UK at the time of seven, and had been educated understanding and practicing both cultures. He progressed to study at the University of Cambridge.

"The idea that an individual can function as a living vessel of English culture, an individual who can in some way transfer the qualities of a British gentleman upon a one-year-old child, seems to me naive and unfeasible," he stated.

"From my perspective, employing a quintessentially British tutor from babyhood will not necessarily achieve the result they desire.

"I wasn't provided with such a figure, and however I have been privileged enough to enjoy several of the situations they desire for their son."

He added: "The fact is, self-identity should not be forced from the outside; it must be chosen, and it must come from within."

Acquiring Englishness

Certainly, UK identity is something the CEO hopes can be instructed – and commercialized.

"In my view the situation that the global community holds us in this respect is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating