Coaching a Baby to Become an 'English Gentleman' – Does It Justify the Cost?

"Parents located in north London wants to find an extraordinary and experienced educator to support their smallest child on his first steps to growing into an British gentleman."

Upon seeing this advertisement, you might naturally overlook the term "first-steps" as mere a turn of phrase.

However, it may be the most significant part of this distinctive position posting, as it aims to hire a mentor for a 12-month-old.

Hundreds of responses have now been sent in since the unidentified family published their request for the highly paid tutor, who has to be "a uniquely qualified person".

In recent few weeks, the advert has attracted notice in the media, with numerous wondering why?

Progressive Approach

Adam Caller, CEO and founder of an education consultancy, which is assisting the family in their quest, said that in spite of first scepticism, he considered the concept "forward-looking", and "progressive".

When he spoke with the family, he noted they understood the atypical character of their demand, and how early in age their son is.

However, they stated that they "didn't want to wait any longer" to engage a tutor, as they had held off until their older child was five, and by that age "cultural influence had already taken hold".

What precisely did the family mean by "cultural bias"?

It's "comprehensive", Adam answered. "How you eat, how you speak".

He stated the firstborn had picked up "extremely delicate, unspoken signals" from the family, and had taken on their cultural ways. The family told the consultant they wished to avoid history to happen again with their younger child.

The intention: To hire a UK tutor, who must speak with standard English accent, to shape the baby right from the beginning.

Subtle Influence

"Much of the learning at the outset here is kind of acquired indirectly," said the CEO.

It's by means of this osmosis that the family are hoping the child will pick up the British traits they wish to instil.

Adam explained the tutor must be an individual who went to "prestigious academies – the same kinds of schools as the family plan to send their son to".

"The educator simply needs to be the right kind of person, they'll be doing things they may not realize they're doing, just naturally," he said.

Cost Not Relevant

The family told him the successful candidate should ideally also have knowledge of or interest in equestrian activities, skiing, artistic pursuits and musical activities so as to inspire the child in a wide range of interests.

Additionally though, he explained the family desired the tutor to enrol the child on a variety of courses so the child would be "pony-riding and learning an instrument by the time they are around three years old".

In the family's minds, assisting their son grow into a "English gentleman" will bring about achievement and create opportunities.

"For all the rights and wrongs of that, because it's certainly a social class indicator," he notes.

But, despite all this guidance in "UK identity", might the child absorb alleged cultural bias from the multicultural family he is raised by regardless?

"Yes", replied Adam. "The family understand this may not work, but they've just taken the attitude of, 'let's give it a go and we'll proceed as soon as we can', because the price of it is not relevant," he said.

Impractical

There are some in the education sector who express those concerns.

Another CEO, chief executive of a tutoring service, who also offer private tutors, commented that "the development of becoming bicultural, or indeed, forming one's identity, is something that must be lived into, not manufactured."

He explained that he had moved from Asia to the UK at the period of seven, and had been brought up knowing and practicing two backgrounds. He continued to study at a prestigious UK institution.

"The notion that one individual can act as a embodiment of UK identity, a person who can somehow transplant the attributes of a UK sophisticate onto a one-year-old child, appears optimistic and unfeasible," he commented.

"From my perspective, having a typically English tutor from infancy will does not necessarily achieve the goal they hope for.

"I wasn't provided with such a figure, and yet I have been lucky enough to live many of the opportunities they desire for their son."

He continued: "The fact is, self-identity cannot be forced from the external environment; it must be embraced, and it must be internally driven."

Acquiring Englishness

Of course, Britishness is something the expert thinks can be taught – and marketed.

"In my view the fact that the international society views us in this regard is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating