Coaching a Baby to Become an 'English Gentleman' – Does It Justify the Investment?
"Parents located in North London is looking for an exceptional and skilled educator to support their smallest child on his early path to becoming an British gentleman."
Upon seeing this listing, you might easily overlook the wording "beginning" as just an expression.
Yet, it could be the most significant element of this unique job advert, as it seeks to hire a teacher for a 12-month-old.
Hundreds of submissions have since been sent in since the anonymous family advertised their call for the £180,000 per year tutor, who must be "someone very special".
Over the last few weeks, the advert has gained attention across the media, with many wondering why?
Forward-Thinking Method
The CEO, head and founder of a global tutoring firm, which is helping the family in their quest, said that despite early skepticism, he considered the idea "far sighted", and "innovative".
When he consulted the family, he noted they understood the unconventional nature of their request, and how young their son is.
But, they clarified that they "were unwilling to delay any longer" to hire a tutor, as they had waited until their older child was five, and by that age "cultural influence had already set in".
What precisely does the family mean by "cultural predisposition"?
It's "everything", Adam replied. "The way you eat, the manner you speak".
He explained the firstborn had picked up "really subtle, body language" from the family, and had assumed their cultural habits. The family explained to the consultant they hoped to prevent history to repeat itself with their younger child.
The plan: To bring in a English tutor, who should speak with standard English accent, to guide the baby from the very start.
Subtle Influence
"A lot of the learning at the start here is kind of acquired indirectly," stated the expert.
It's by means of this natural absorption that the family are hoping the child will adopt the English characteristics they aim to cultivate.
Adam noted the tutor must be an individual who attended "prestigious academies – similar types of schools as the family aspire to send their son to".
"The tutor simply needs to be the right kind of person, they'll be carrying out things they may not realize they're doing, effortlessly," he commented.
Expense Not a Factor
The family informed Adam the chosen tutor should ideally also have familiarity of or enthusiasm in equestrian activities, skiing, artistic pursuits and music so as to shape the child in a diverse set of passions.
More than that though, he stated the family desired the tutor to register the child on a selection of courses so the child would be "horseback riding and learning an musical instrument by the time they are approximately three years old".
In the family's minds, assisting their son grow into a "British gentleman" will lead to success and create opportunities.
"Considering the pros and cons of that, because it's definitely a class statement," he notes.
However, notwithstanding all this tutelage in "UK identity", could the child adopt so-called cultural leaning from the globally influenced family he resides with regardless?
"Certainly", answered the CEO. "The family understand this might not succeed, but they've just taken the attitude of, 'why not attempt it and we'll proceed as soon as we can', because the price of it is not a concern," he said.
Impractical
There are some in the private teaching field who share those reservations.
Another CEO, CEO and founder of an educational organization, who also offer private tutors, commented that "the journey of adopting dual cultures, or actually, becoming oneself, is something that must be lived into, not designed."
He wrote that he had moved from the Far East to the Britain at the age of seven, and had been raised knowing and living two backgrounds. He continued to learn at the University of Cambridge.
"The concept that a single person can act as a embodiment of UK identity, an individual who can in some way transfer the attributes of a UK sophisticate to a 12-month-old child, seems to me idealistic and unfeasible," he stated.
"Based on my background, employing a typically British tutor from infancy will not automatically produce the goal they hope for.
"I did not have such a figure, and however I have been privileged enough to enjoy several of the situations they desire for their son."
He stated: "The fact is, personal identity should not be forced from the external environment; it must be selected, and it must originate internally."
Buying Britishness
Naturally, Britishness is something the CEO thinks can be taught – and sold.
"I believe the situation that the international society holds us in this respect is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating