"A household residing in North London is looking for an extraordinary and experienced instructor to guide their smallest child on his initial journey to turning into an English gentleman."
Looking at this listing, you might readily miss the wording "initial stages" as mere figurative language.
However, it might be the most important part of this unusual job advert, as it aims to hire a tutor for a one-year-old.
Hundreds of submissions have since been submitted since the unnamed family advertised their request for the highly paid tutor, who needs to be "an exceptional individual".
Over the last few weeks, the post has received notice in the news, with numerous wondering why?
Forward-Thinking Method
A tutoring expert, head and founder of Tutors International, which is helping the family in their hunt, stated that despite initial doubt, he considered the concept "far sighted", and "progressive".
When he met the family, he said they recognized the atypical aspect of their request, and how immature their son is.
Nevertheless, they clarified that they "were unwilling to delay any longer" to hire a tutor, as they had held off until their elder sibling was five, and by that age "cultural influence had by then become established".
But what does the family indicate by "cultural leaning"?
It's "everything", Adam responded. "The way you eat, how you speak".
He said the firstborn had absorbed "really subtle, unspoken signals" from the family, and had assumed their cultural habits. The family explained to the consultant they wished to avoid this pattern to happen again with their younger child.
The strategy: To engage a British tutor, who should speak with Received Pronunciation, to guide the baby from the very start.
Subtle Influence
"A lot of the development at the start here is rather acquired indirectly," said the expert.
It's through this natural absorption that the family are expecting the child will pick up the British traits they wish to impart.
The consultant explained the tutor needed to be someone who attended "the appropriate educational institutions – similar types of schools as the family hope 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, effortlessly," he said.
Money No Object
The family explained to Adam the chosen tutor should ideally also have familiarity of or passion in equestrian activities, winter sports, the arts and music so as to influence the child in a diverse set of hobbies.
Additionally though, he explained the family desired the tutor to sign up the child on a selection of classes so the child would be "equestrian training and learning an instrument by the time they are about three years old".
In the family's minds, helping their son become a "British gentleman" will lead to achievement and open doors.
"Taking into account the advantages and disadvantages of that, because it's undoubtedly a social class indicator," he comments.
Yet, in spite of all this guidance in "UK identity", could the child pick up alleged cultural leaning from the multicultural family he resides with anyway?
"Absolutely", said he. "The family understand this may not work, but they've simply adopted the attitude of, 'we should try and we should start as early as we can', because the price of it is irrelevant," he said.
Overly Optimistic
Several in the education sector who have those concerns.
An education leader, CEO and founder of a tutoring service, who also offer private tutors, commented that "the journey of becoming bicultural, or indeed, discovering oneself, is something that must be experienced personally, not manufactured."
Peter explained that he had relocated from Asia to the Britain at the period of seven, and had been educated knowing and practicing dual heritages. He went on to be educated at the University of Cambridge.
"The notion that an individual can function as a embodiment of UK identity, a person who can in some way impart the characteristics of a English gentleman to a infant child, strikes me as idealistic and impractical," he commented.
"Based on my background, engaging a quintessentially English tutor from early childhood will will not necessarily achieve the goal they hope for.
"I wasn't provided with such a tutor, and yet I have been fortunate enough to enjoy numerous of the situations they aspire for their son."
He added: "The reality is, self-identity can not be forced from the external environment; it must be selected, and it must originate internally."
Acquiring Englishness
Naturally, Britishness is something the CEO believes can be instructed – and commercialized.
"I believe the reality that the world regards us in this light is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
