"A household based in north London seeks an remarkable and qualified instructor to support their youngest child on his initial journey to growing into an English gentleman."
When reading this post, you might naturally skip the term "initial stages" as simple a turn of phrase.
But, it may be the most important aspect of this unusual employment listing, as it aims to find a teacher for a one-year-old.
Numerous of applications have now been received since the anonymous family posted their request for the £180,000 per year tutor, who needs to be "someone very special".
During the past few weeks, the post has received attention throughout the press, with several asking why?
Innovative Idea
The CEO, head and founder of an education consultancy, which is assisting the family in their search, explained that notwithstanding first skepticism, he viewed the concept "forward-looking", and "advanced".
When he spoke with the family, he noted they recognized the atypical character of their demand, and how immature their son is.
However, they explained that they "preferred not to postpone any longer" to hire a tutor, as they had postponed until their elder sibling was five, and by that stage "cultural influence had already set in".
What exactly did the family refer to by "cultural predisposition"?
It's "everything", the expert answered. "The manner you eat, how you speak".
He said the older sibling had adopted "extremely delicate, body language" from the family, and had adopted their cultural ways. The family explained to him they hoped to prevent this pattern to repeat itself with their younger child.
The intention: To bring in a English tutor, who should speak with standard English accent, to guide the baby right from the beginning.
Subtle Influence
"A lot of the learning at the outset here is rather absorbed naturally," stated Adam.
It's by means of this osmosis that the family are expecting the child will pick up the British traits they wish to cultivate.
He said the tutor must be an individual who studied at "the appropriate educational institutions – the same kinds of schools as the family plan to send their son to".
"The educator just has to be the suitable individual, they'll be doing things they don't even know they're doing, just naturally," he added.
Cost Not Relevant
The family explained to the expert the successful candidate should ideally also have understanding of or enthusiasm in riding, skiing, creative fields and instrumental training so as to influence the child in a diverse set of interests.
Furthermore though, he stated the family desired the tutor to register the child on a range of courses so the child would be "equestrian training and starting an musical instrument by the time they are approximately three years old".
In the family's perspective, helping their son become a "UK sophisticate" will lead to accomplishment and provide access.
"For all the advantages and disadvantages of that, because it's certainly a social class indicator," he comments.
However, despite all this guidance in "Britishness", could the child pick up alleged cultural bias from the multicultural family he resides with anyway?
"Yes", replied the CEO. "The family know this could fail, but they've just taken the perspective of, 'we should try and we should start as quickly as we can', because the price of it is irrelevant," he said.
Overly Optimistic
Several in the tutoring industry who share similar reservations.
An education leader, CEO and founder of a tutoring service, who supplies personal educators, wrote that "the journey of adopting dual cultures, or actually, becoming oneself, is something that must be experienced personally, not engineered."
Peter noted that he had relocated from the Far East to the United Kingdom at the period of 7 years old, and had been brought up knowing and practicing both cultures. He continued to learn at a prestigious UK institution.
"The concept that an individual can serve as a living vessel of English culture, an individual who can somehow impart the characteristics of a British gentleman upon a infant child, appears naive and unfeasible," he stated.
"From my perspective, having a distinctly UK tutor from early childhood will not automatically produce the result they desire.
"I wasn't provided with such a tutor, and nevertheless I have been lucky enough to live numerous of the situations they aspire for their son."
He added: "The truth is, cultural identity can not be imposed from the outside influences; it must be chosen, and it must be internally driven."
Buying Britishness
Of course, English culture is something the expert believes can be taught – and commercialized.
"I believe the fact that the international society holds us in this respect is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
