Tutoring an Infant to Become an 'British Gentleman' – Does It Justify the Money?

"Parents located in North London is looking for an exceptional and qualified tutor to support their most junior child on his early path to growing into an English gentleman."

When reading this listing, you might naturally miss the term "beginning" as just figurative language.

However, it could be the most significant element of this unusual employment listing, as it aims to recruit a tutor for a infant.

Many of submissions have already been received since the unidentified family published their search for the highly paid tutor, who needs to be "a uniquely qualified person".

Over the last few weeks, the post has attracted attention throughout the media, with numerous questioning why?

Innovative Idea

A tutoring expert, CEO and founder of a global tutoring firm, which is assisting the family in their search, said that notwithstanding first skepticism, he considered the plan "visionary", and "innovative".

When he met the family, he mentioned they understood the atypical nature of their request, and how early in age their son is.

Nevertheless, they clarified that they "didn't want to wait any longer" to engage a tutor, as they had waited until their elder sibling was five, and by that age "cultural bias had already set in".

But what did the family indicate by "cultural bias"?

It's "all-encompassing", he replied. "The way you eat, the way you speak".

He said the firstborn had absorbed "really subtle, body language" from the family, and had taken on their cultural habits. The family explained to the consultant they hoped to prevent this pattern to repeat itself with their younger child.

The plan: To bring in a British tutor, who should speak with RP, to shape the baby right from the beginning.

Osmotic Learning

"A great deal of the education at the beginning here is kind of acquired indirectly," said the expert.

It's through this natural absorption that the family are expecting the child will pick up the UK customs they aim to impart.

He noted the tutor must be an individual who studied at "prestigious academies – similar types of schools as the family aspire to send their son to".

"The tutor simply needs to be the appropriate candidate, they'll be doing things they aren't even aware they're doing, just naturally," he said.

Money No Object

The family informed him the selected educator should preferably also have familiarity of or enthusiasm in horse riding, alpine skiing, creative fields and music so as to inspire the child in a diverse set of hobbies.

Furthermore though, he said the family hoped the tutor to register the child on a selection of lessons so the child would be "pony-riding and picking up an instrument by the time they are about three years old".

In the family's perspective, helping their son grow into a "British gentleman" will bring about success and create opportunities.

"Taking into account the rights and wrongs of that, because it's undoubtedly a social class indicator," he comments.

Yet, despite all this tutelage in "English culture", would the child adopt what is termed cultural influence from the multicultural family he lives with regardless?

"Certainly", replied Adam. "They know this might not succeed, but they've just taken the perspective of, 'let's give it a go and we should start as early as we can', because the cost of it is not relevant," he said.

Overly Optimistic

There are some in the private teaching field who have those reservations.

Peter Cui, chief executive of an educational organization, who supplies personal educators, stated that "the journey of embracing two identities, or actually, becoming oneself, is something that must be experienced personally, not engineered."

He explained that he had emigrated from the Far East to the Britain at the age of childhood, and had been brought up understanding and practicing dual heritages. He went on to study at a prestigious UK institution.

"The concept that a single person can function as a living vessel of Britishness, someone who can possibly transplant the characteristics of a British gentleman to a 12-month-old child, appears naive and unrealistic," he commented.

"From my perspective, employing a quintessentially UK tutor from early childhood will will not necessarily produce the result they desire.

"I wasn't provided with such a tutor, and however I have been fortunate enough to live numerous of the experiences they aspire for their son."

He stated: "The truth is, self-identity should not be imposed from the outside; it must be embraced, and it must originate internally."

Purchasing UK Culture

Certainly, UK identity is something Adam hopes can be taught – and marketed.

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