Tutoring a Baby to Develop into an 'British Gentleman' – Is It Worth the Money?

Child education concept
The organization behind the advert claims that what looks like "luxury or oddity" is truly "deliberate investment in early-stage education".

"Parents located in north London is looking for an exceptional and skilled educator to guide their youngest child on his early path to growing into an English gentleman."

Looking at this listing, you might easily overlook the wording "first-steps" as mere figurative language.

But, it may be the most significant part of this distinctive employment listing, as it attempts to find a tutor for a 12-month-old.

Hundreds of submissions have since been submitted since the unnamed family published their call for the £180,000 per year tutor, who must be "an exceptional individual".

In recent few weeks, the listing has gained notice across the press, with several wondering why?

Forward-Thinking Method

A tutoring expert, CEO and founder of a global tutoring firm, which is assisting the family in their quest, explained that despite early doubt, he considered the concept "forward-looking", and "progressive".

When he spoke with the family, he said they understood the unusual character of their requirement, and how young their son is.

But, they stated that they "preferred not to postpone any longer" to get a tutor, as they had waited until their firstborn was five, and by that point "cultural influence had by then taken hold".

But what does the family mean by "cultural leaning"?

It's "all-encompassing", Adam responded. "The manner you eat, how you speak".

He said the older sibling had absorbed "extremely delicate, non-verbal cues" from the family, and had taken on their cultural ways. The family told him they did not want history to happen again with their infant.

The intention: To hire a UK tutor, who needs to speak with RP, to influence the baby from day one.

Tutoring discussion
Tutors International say the listing has initiated a larger conversation about how parents view learning, privilege and the role of home and culture in development.

Osmotic Learning

"Much of the development at the outset here is rather osmotic," said the CEO.

It's via this natural absorption that the family are aiming the child will acquire the English characteristics they aim to impart.

Adam explained the tutor needed to be an individual who studied at "the appropriate educational institutions – comparable categories of schools as the family aspire to send their son to".

"The instructor just has to be the appropriate candidate, they'll be carrying out things they may not realize they're doing, simply by nature," he commented.

Money No Object

The family informed him the selected educator should ideally also have understanding of or passion in horse riding, alpine skiing, creative fields and music so as to shape the child in a broad spectrum of interests.

Additionally though, he stated the family hoped the tutor to register the child on a variety of classes so the child would be "horseback riding and picking up an musical instrument by the time they are approximately three years old".

In the family's view, assisting their son become a "UK sophisticate" will result in accomplishment and provide access.

"For all the advantages and disadvantages of that, because it's undoubtedly a class statement," he adds.

However, despite all this tutelage in "English culture", would the child pick up alleged cultural influence from the multicultural family he lives with anyway?

"Absolutely", said he. "The family know this could fail, but they've just taken the view of, 'let's give it a go and we should start as soon as we can', because the cost of it is irrelevant," he said.

Idealistic and Unrealistic

A number of in the education sector who express those reservations.

An education leader, head and founder of Blue Education, who provides personal educators, commented that "the journey of embracing two identities, or indeed, forming one's identity, is something that must be experienced personally, not engineered."

He wrote that he had emigrated from the Far East to the Britain at the age of seven, and had been brought up understanding and living two backgrounds. He went on to be educated at the University of Cambridge.

Peter Cui portrait
The educator was the first person born in mainland China to be selected to the post of Financial Officer of the Cambridge Union Society.

"The concept that a single person can act as a living vessel of English culture, an individual who can possibly transfer the characteristics of a British gentleman to a infant child, appears naive and impractical," he commented.

"In my experience, having a distinctly UK tutor from early childhood will not automatically produce the result they hope for.

"I wasn't provided with such a tutor, and yet I have been privileged enough to enjoy numerous of the opportunities they aspire for their son."

He continued: "The truth is, cultural identity should not be forced from the external environment; it must be embraced, and it must come from within."

Acquiring Englishness

Of course, English culture is something the expert hopes can be educated – and sold.

"In my view the reality that the world views us in this regard is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating

Kimberly Smith
Kimberly Smith

A technology strategist with over a decade of experience in IT consulting and digital transformation projects across Europe and Asia.