Coaching a Toddler to Become an 'English Gentleman' β Is It Worth the Money?
"A family located in the northern part of London wants to find an exceptional and skilled instructor to support their youngest child on his first steps to becoming an English gentleman."
Looking at this advertisement, you might readily skip the term "initial stages" as just figurative language.
But, it may be the most important aspect of this unusual job advert, as it aims to hire a teacher for a 12-month-old.
Many of responses have now been submitted since the anonymous family posted their call for the Β£180,000 per year tutor, who needs to be "a uniquely qualified person".
During the past few weeks, the listing has attracted attention across the media, with many asking why?
Progressive Approach
A tutoring expert, chief executive of a global tutoring firm, which is assisting the family in their quest, explained that despite early doubt, he considered the plan "forward-looking", and "progressive".
When he met the family, he noted they recognized the atypical character of their requirement, and how early in age their son is.
But, they clarified that they "were unwilling to delay any longer" to engage a tutor, as they had waited until their firstborn was five, and by that stage "cultural bias had already taken hold".
What exactly did the family indicate by "cultural predisposition"?
It's "comprehensive", Adam replied. "The way you eat, how you speak".
He stated the elder child had absorbed "very nuanced, non-verbal cues" from the family, and had assumed their cultural norms. The family told him they did not want history to recur with their infant.
The plan: To bring in a English tutor, who must speak with Received Pronunciation, to influence the baby right from the beginning.
Natural Absorption
"A great deal of the learning at the outset here is somewhat absorbed naturally," explained Adam.
It's via this osmosis that the family are aiming the child will acquire the UK customs they wish to cultivate.
He explained the tutor must be an individual who attended "the appropriate educational institutions β the same kinds of schools as the family plan to send their son to".
"The tutor just has to be the appropriate candidate, they'll be performing things they may not realize they're doing, just naturally," he said.
Expense Not a Factor
The family told the expert the chosen tutor should ideally also have knowledge of or passion in equestrian activities, winter sports, the arts and musical activities so as to inspire the child in a broad spectrum of hobbies.
Furthermore though, he explained the family desired the tutor to enrol the child on a selection of courses so the child would be "pony-riding and learning an musical instrument by the time they are approximately three years old".
In the family's minds, assisting their son become a "English gentleman" will lead to accomplishment and open doors.
"For all the pros and cons of that, because it's certainly a status symbol," he notes.
However, in spite of all this instruction in "UK identity", could the child pick up what is termed cultural influence from the international family he lives with in any case?
"Absolutely", answered Adam. "The parents realize this might not succeed, but they've simply adopted the attitude of, 'we should try and we should start as quickly as we can', because the expense of it is not relevant," he stated.
Overly Optimistic
A number of in the education sector who express similar concerns.
Another CEO, head and founder of an educational organization, who provides individual instructors, commented that "the journey of embracing two identities, or in fact, discovering oneself, is something that must be grown into, not designed."
The expert noted that he had emigrated from the Far East to the Britain at the period of 7 years old, and had been raised knowing and living dual heritages. He continued to learn at the University of Cambridge.
"The notion that a single person can serve as a representation of UK identity, an individual who can in some way impart the characteristics of a British gentleman to a one-year-old child, appears idealistic and unrealistic," he wrote.
"In my experience, having a distinctly English tutor from infancy will will not automatically create the result they desire.
"I did not have such a figure, and nevertheless I have been lucky enough to live many of the situations they desire for their son."
He stated: "The truth is, self-identity can not be dictated from the outside influences; it must be chosen, and it must be internally driven."
Purchasing UK Culture
Of course, UK identity is something the CEO believes can be taught β and commercialized.
"I believe the reality that the international society holds us in this respect is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating