Coaching a Baby to Become an 'English Gentleman' – Is It Worth the Money?
"A family located in the northern part of London wants to find an exceptional and qualified educator to support their youngest child on his first steps to growing into an English gentleman."
Upon seeing this post, you might easily skip the term "initial stages" as just an expression.
Yet, it could be the most important aspect of this unusual position posting, as it seeks to recruit a tutor for a 12-month-old.
Hundreds of submissions have since been received since the unnamed family advertised their call for the £180k-a-year tutor, who needs to be "an exceptional individual".
In recent few weeks, the advert has gained interest across the press, with many asking why?
Progressive Approach
A tutoring expert, chief executive of an education consultancy, which is supporting the family in their search, explained that notwithstanding initial doubt, he found the idea "visionary", and "advanced".
When he met the family, he noted they appreciated the unusual nature of their demand, and how early in age their son is.
But, they explained that they "preferred not to postpone any longer" to get a tutor, as they had postponed until their older child was five, and by that stage "cultural conditioning had already taken hold".
What exactly does the family refer to by "cultural bias"?
It's "comprehensive", the expert answered. "The manner you eat, the manner you speak".
He said the older sibling had picked up "really subtle, body language" from the family, and had taken on their cultural ways. The family explained to him they wished to avoid this pattern to recur with their new baby.
The intention: To hire a UK tutor, who needs to speak with Received Pronunciation, to shape the baby from day one.
Subtle Influence
"A great deal of the education at the start here is somewhat absorbed naturally," explained Adam.
It's by means of this osmosis that the family are expecting the child will acquire the English characteristics they wish to instil.
Adam noted the tutor had to be someone who went to "prestigious academies – comparable categories of schools as the family hope to send their son to".
"The tutor must be the appropriate candidate, they'll be carrying out things they may not realize they're doing, simply by nature," he said.
Money No Object
The family told Adam the chosen tutor should ideally also have understanding of or passion in equestrian activities, skiing, creative fields and musical activities so as to shape the child in a broad spectrum of hobbies.
Additionally though, he said the family hoped the tutor to register the child on a selection of courses so the child would be "pony-riding and starting an instrument by the time they are about three years old".
In the family's perspective, helping their son develop into a "UK sophisticate" will lead to achievement and create opportunities.
"For all the advantages and disadvantages of that, because it's certainly a status symbol," he notes.
But, despite all this guidance in "English culture", might the child adopt alleged cultural influence from the international family he is raised by in any case?
"Yes", answered the CEO. "They realize this might not succeed, but they've just taken the view of, 'let's give it a go and we should start as early as we can', because the cost of it is not a concern," he said.
Overly Optimistic
Several in the education sector who share similar reservations.
Another CEO, chief executive of an educational organization, who provides personal educators, wrote that "the process of adopting dual cultures, or indeed, forming one's identity, is something that must be experienced personally, not designed."
The expert explained that he had moved from the Far East to the United Kingdom at the age of seven, and had been raised experiencing and living both cultures. He went on to learn at Cambridge University.
"The idea that an individual can function as a representation of UK identity, someone who can possibly transfer the characteristics of a British gentleman upon a one-year-old child, appears naive and unrealistic," he wrote.
"From my perspective, having a typically British tutor from babyhood will not necessarily produce the goal they want.
"I wasn't provided with such a tutor, and yet I have been fortunate enough to live numerous of the opportunities they aspire for their son."
He added: "The reality is, personal identity cannot be forced from the outside influences; it must be selected, and it must come from within."
Purchasing UK Culture
Of course, UK identity is something the CEO hopes can be instructed – and sold.
"I believe the fact that the world holds us in this light is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating