Educating a Toddler to Become an 'British Gentleman' – Does It Justify the Investment?

"A household located in north London seeks an exceptional and qualified tutor to assist their most junior child on his early path to turning into an English gentleman."

Looking at this advertisement, you might easily miss the phrase "beginning" as simple an expression.

But, it may be the most significant element of this unusual employment listing, as it attempts to hire a tutor for a one-year-old.

Numerous of applications have since been submitted since the anonymous family posted their call for the £180,000 per year tutor, who needs to be "someone very special".

Over the last few weeks, the listing has attracted notice throughout the media, with several wondering why?

Forward-Thinking Method

Adam Caller, head and founder of a global tutoring firm, which is assisting the family in their search, stated that notwithstanding early skepticism, he found the concept "forward-looking", and "advanced".

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

Nevertheless, they explained that they "were unwilling to delay any longer" to hire a tutor, as they had postponed until their older child was five, and by that stage "cultural conditioning had already set in".

But what does the family refer to by "cultural leaning"?

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

He explained the elder child had adopted "extremely delicate, unspoken signals" from the family, and had taken on their cultural ways. The family told him they wished to avoid the same situation to recur with their new baby.

The strategy: To hire a British tutor, who should speak with Received Pronunciation, to influence the baby from day one.

Natural Absorption

"A lot of the learning at the start here is somewhat acquired indirectly," stated the expert.

It's through this subtle influence that the family are hoping the child will adopt the British traits they aim to impart.

He noted the tutor needed to be somebody who went to "the appropriate educational institutions – comparable categories of schools as the family hope to send their son to".

"The tutor just has to be the right kind of person, they'll be doing things they aren't even aware they're doing, just naturally," he said.

Cost Not Relevant

The family informed him the chosen tutor should ideally also have familiarity of or enthusiasm in equestrian activities, winter sports, creative fields and music so as to shape the child in a wide range of hobbies.

Furthermore though, he explained the family hoped the tutor to register the child on a range of classes so the child would be "equestrian training and starting an instrument by the time they are around three years old".

In the family's minds, assisting their son become a "British gentleman" will bring about accomplishment and create opportunities.

"Considering the rights and wrongs of that, because it's undoubtedly a status symbol," he comments.

Yet, notwithstanding all this instruction in "English culture", could the child adopt what is termed cultural leaning from the multicultural family he is raised by anyway?

"Yes", said he. "The family realize this may not work, but they've just taken 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.

Overly Optimistic

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

Another CEO, CEO and founder of an educational organization, who supplies individual instructors, commented that "the development of embracing two identities, or actually, forming one's identity, is something that must be grown into, not engineered."

He noted that he had emigrated from Asia to the United Kingdom at the period of 7 years old, and had been brought up knowing and living dual heritages. He progressed to learn at Cambridge University.

"The idea that an individual can act as a living vessel of Britishness, an individual who can possibly transplant the attributes of a English gentleman to a infant child, appears idealistic and unfeasible," he commented.

"From my perspective, engaging a distinctly English tutor from babyhood will not instantly create the goal they hope for.

"I never had such a figure, and yet I have been privileged enough to live many of the experiences they aspire for their son."

He added: "The fact is, self-identity can not be imposed from the outside influences; it must be embraced, and it must originate internally."

Buying Britishness

Naturally, UK identity is something the expert thinks can be educated – and sold.

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