"A family based in north London wants to find an extraordinary and qualified educator to support their youngest child on his first steps to becoming an British gentleman."
Upon seeing this advertisement, you might readily overlook the term "first-steps" as mere a turn of phrase.
Yet, it may be the most important part of this unique job advert, as it aims to recruit a tutor for a one-year-old.
Numerous of responses have already been submitted since the unnamed family published their call for the £180k-a-year tutor, who must be "someone very special".
During the past few weeks, the listing has gained notice throughout the news, with several wondering why?
Forward-Thinking Method
The CEO, head and founder of an education consultancy, which is helping the family in their quest, stated that in spite of first scepticism, he viewed the plan "far sighted", and "advanced".
When he consulted the family, he said they appreciated the unconventional character of their requirement, and how immature their son is.
Nevertheless, they explained that they "didn't want to wait any longer" to hire a tutor, as they had held off until their elder sibling was five, and by that point "cultural bias had already set in".
What exactly did the family mean by "cultural bias"?
It's "all-encompassing", the expert replied. "How you eat, how you speak".
He said the older sibling had adopted "really subtle, body language" from the family, and had taken on their cultural ways. The family told Adam they hoped to prevent the same situation to recur with their new baby.
The intention: To hire a UK tutor, who needs to speak with Received Pronunciation, to shape the baby right from the beginning.
Natural Absorption
"A lot of the development at the outset here is kind of osmotic," said the expert.
It's by means of this subtle influence that the family are expecting the child will acquire the English characteristics they want to impart.
The consultant said the tutor had to be someone who went to "the right kinds of schools – the same kinds of schools as the family aspire to send their son to".
"The tutor simply needs to be the appropriate candidate, they'll be doing things they don't even know they're doing, effortlessly," he added.
Expense Not a Factor
The family told Adam the chosen tutor should ideally also have knowledge of or passion in riding, winter sports, creative fields and musical activities so as to influence the child in a broad spectrum of interests.
Additionally though, he explained the family wanted the tutor to sign up the child on a range of classes so the child would be "pony-riding and starting an musical instrument by the time they are about three years old".
In the family's view, assisting their son become a "British gentleman" will lead to accomplishment and open doors.
"For all the rights and wrongs of that, because it's undoubtedly a status symbol," he adds.
But, despite all this instruction in "Britishness", would the child pick up so-called cultural leaning from the international family he resides with anyway?
"Certainly", replied he. "The family realize this could fail, but they've merely embraced 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 said.
Overly Optimistic
A number of in the tutoring industry who have these reservations.
An education leader, CEO and founder of Blue Education, who also offer individual instructors, wrote that "the development of embracing two identities, or actually, forming one's identity, is something that must be lived into, not designed."
Peter explained that he had emigrated from the Far East to the United Kingdom at the age of 7 years old, and had been brought up experiencing and living both cultures. He continued to be educated at a prestigious UK institution.
"The idea that one individual can serve as a living vessel of English culture, a person who can possibly impart the qualities of a English gentleman onto a one-year-old child, strikes me as naive and unrealistic," he stated.
"In my experience, having a quintessentially British tutor from babyhood will not instantly create the outcome they want.
"I wasn't provided with such a figure, and nevertheless I have been privileged enough to live many of the experiences they aspire for their son."
He added: "The reality is, cultural identity cannot be dictated from the outside influences; it must be selected, and it must be internally driven."
Buying Britishness
Naturally, Britishness is something the CEO thinks can be instructed – and commercialized.
"In my view the fact that the world regards us in this regard is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
