Educating a Baby to Develop into an 'British Gentleman' – Does It Justify the Cost?

Child education concept
The firm behind the listing explains that what looks like "luxury or oddity" is in fact "purposeful investment in initial learning".

"A family located in North London wants to find an exceptional and qualified educator to assist their most junior child on his early path to becoming an English gentleman."

Upon seeing this post, you might naturally overlook the term "initial stages" as simple figurative language.

However, it could be the most significant aspect of this unusual job advert, as it aims to recruit a mentor for a 12-month-old.

Numerous of applications have already been sent in since the unidentified family advertised their search for the £180k-a-year tutor, who has to be "someone very special".

Over the last few weeks, the advert has attracted interest in the news, with several asking why?

Forward-Thinking Method

A tutoring expert, head and founder of Tutors International, which is assisting the family in their search, explained that despite first scepticism, he viewed the idea "visionary", and "advanced".

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

But, they explained that they "were unwilling to delay any longer" to engage a tutor, as they had postponed until their older child was five, and by that stage "cultural influence had already become established".

What precisely does the family indicate by "cultural bias"?

It's "all-encompassing", the expert responded. "The manner you eat, the way you speak".

He stated the elder child had absorbed "really subtle, unspoken signals" from the family, and had assumed their cultural habits. The family explained to the consultant they wished to avoid the same situation to happen again with their new baby.

The strategy: To hire a British tutor, who needs to speak with standard English accent, to guide the baby right from the beginning.

Tutoring discussion
The tutoring agency say the advert has sparked a larger conversation about how families view learning, advantage and the function of cultural environment in development.

Natural Absorption

"Much of the development at the outset here is rather absorbed naturally," explained the CEO.

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

He noted the tutor must be an individual who went to "the right kinds of schools – the same kinds of schools as the family aspire to send their son to".

"The educator simply needs to be the suitable individual, they'll be doing things they may not realize they're doing, simply by nature," he added.

Expense Not a Factor

The family explained to Adam the successful candidate should preferably also have knowledge of or enthusiasm in riding, alpine skiing, creative fields and musical activities so as to shape the child in a diverse set of passions.

Additionally though, he said the family hoped the tutor to register the child on a range of lessons so the child would be "equestrian training and learning an instrument by the time they are about three years old".

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

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

However, in spite of all this instruction in "Britishness", might the child pick up what is termed cultural leaning from the multicultural family he is raised by anyway?

"Absolutely", replied the CEO. "They realize this could fail, 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 irrelevant," he stated.

Impractical

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

Peter Cui, head and founder of a tutoring service, who supplies individual instructors, wrote that "the development of becoming bicultural, or indeed, forming one's identity, is something that must be grown into, not designed."

Peter wrote that he had emigrated from the Far East to the Britain at the period of 7 years old, and had been brought up knowing and embodying dual heritages. He progressed to be educated at a prestigious UK institution.

Peter Cui portrait
The educator was the pioneer originating from China to be selected to the post of Treasurer of the Cambridge Union.

"The concept that an individual can serve as a representation of Britishness, someone who can somehow transplant the qualities of a UK sophisticate upon a one-year-old child, strikes me as idealistic and unrealistic," he wrote.

"From my perspective, employing a quintessentially British tutor from infancy will not instantly produce the outcome they want.

"I did not have such a figure, and yet I have been fortunate enough to enjoy many of the situations they desire for their son."

He added: "The fact is, personal identity cannot be forced from the external environment; it must be chosen, and it must originate internally."

Purchasing UK Culture

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

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

Cindy Barrett
Cindy Barrett

Tech journalist and cultural critic exploring the intersection of society and technology.