Coaching a Toddler to Grow into an 'English Gentleman' – Is It Worth the Investment?
"Parents located in North London seeks an exceptional and qualified tutor to guide their smallest child on his initial journey to growing into an English gentleman."
When reading this post, you might easily miss the term "initial stages" as simple a turn of phrase.
Yet, it may be the most important part of this distinctive position posting, as it seeks to find a mentor for a 12-month-old.
Many of applications have already been sent in since the unnamed family published their search for the £180k-a-year tutor, who must be "an exceptional individual".
Over the last few weeks, the listing has gained interest in the media, with many asking why?
Forward-Thinking Method
The CEO, chief executive of Tutors International, which is supporting the family in their search, said that notwithstanding first scepticism, he viewed the concept "forward-looking", and "advanced".
When he consulted the family, he said they understood the atypical nature of their request, and how young their son is.
But, they explained that they "were unwilling to delay any longer" to get a tutor, as they had held off until their elder sibling was five, and by that stage "cultural influence had by then become established".
What exactly does the family indicate by "cultural predisposition"?
It's "everything", he responded. "How you eat, the way you speak".
He explained the older sibling had picked up "very nuanced, body language" from the family, and had adopted their cultural norms. The family told Adam they did not want this pattern to repeat itself with their new baby.
The intention: To engage a UK tutor, who must speak with Received Pronunciation, to shape the baby from day one.
Natural Absorption
"A great deal of the education at the outset here is somewhat osmotic," said the expert.
It's via this natural absorption that the family are hoping the child will adopt the UK customs they want to instil.
The consultant noted the tutor needed to be someone who attended "prestigious academies – the same kinds of schools as the family hope to send their son to".
"The tutor simply needs to be the right kind of person, they'll be carrying out things they don't even know they're doing, effortlessly," he added.
Money No Object
The family explained to the expert the selected educator should preferably also have familiarity of or passion in riding, skiing, the arts and musical activities so as to inspire the child in a broad spectrum of passions.
Additionally though, he stated the family hoped the tutor to register the child on a selection of lessons so the child would be "horseback riding and learning an tool by the time they are around three years old".
In the family's view, guiding their son develop into a "English gentleman" will lead to success and provide access.
"Considering the pros and cons of that, because it's undoubtedly a social class indicator," he notes.
But, despite all this guidance in "Britishness", would the child pick up so-called cultural influence from the globally influenced family he is raised by anyway?
"Certainly", answered Adam. "The parents know this could fail, but they've just taken the attitude of, 'let's give it a go and let's go as soon as we can', because the expense of it is not relevant," he stated.
Impractical
Several in the education sector who express these doubts.
Another CEO, CEO and founder of an educational organization, who supplies personal educators, commented that "the development of adopting dual cultures, or in fact, becoming oneself, is something that must be grown into, not manufactured."
He explained that he had moved from China to the United Kingdom at the time of childhood, and had been raised understanding and living two backgrounds. He went on to be educated at the University of Cambridge.
"The concept that an individual can serve as a living vessel of Britishness, someone who can somehow impart the characteristics of a UK sophisticate upon a one-year-old child, strikes me as naive and impractical," he wrote.
"In my experience, having a distinctly British tutor from babyhood will does not instantly produce the goal they want.
"I did not have such a figure, and yet I have been lucky enough to experience many of the situations they hope for their son."
He stated: "The fact is, personal identity can not be dictated from the outside; it must be embraced, and it must come from within."
Acquiring Englishness
Naturally, Britishness is something the CEO hopes can be taught – and sold.
"I think the fact that the world regards us in this light is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating