"A family based in the northern part of London wants to find an remarkable and experienced educator to support their youngest child on his first steps to growing into an English gentleman."
Looking at this post, you might readily miss the term "first-steps" as simple an expression.
However, it may be the most important element of this distinctive position posting, as it attempts to recruit a tutor for a infant.
Hundreds of submissions have now been submitted since the unidentified family published their request for the £180k-a-year tutor, who needs to be "someone very special".
Over the last few weeks, the advert has received attention throughout the news, with several asking why?
Forward-Thinking Method
The CEO, chief executive of Tutors International, which is supporting the family in their search, said that despite early scepticism, he considered the plan "far sighted", and "progressive".
When he spoke with the family, he said they appreciated the unconventional character of their requirement, and how young their son is.
However, they clarified that they "preferred not to postpone any longer" to hire a tutor, as they had held off until their older child was five, and by that stage "cultural conditioning had already taken hold".
What exactly did the family mean by "cultural predisposition"?
It's "all-encompassing", he responded. "The way you eat, the manner you speak".
He explained the firstborn had absorbed "really subtle, non-verbal cues" from the family, and had adopted their cultural habits. The family explained to Adam they wished to avoid the same situation to recur with their new baby.
The intention: To engage a English tutor, who must speak with standard English accent, to shape the baby from the very start.
Natural Absorption
"Much of the education at the beginning here is kind of absorbed naturally," stated the expert.
It's through this osmosis that the family are expecting the child will adopt the English characteristics they aim to impart.
He explained the tutor needed to be an individual who studied at "prestigious academies – the same kinds of schools as the family aspire to send their son to".
"The educator must be the right kind of person, they'll be carrying out things they don't even know they're doing, just naturally," he said.
Money No Object
The family explained to the expert the selected educator should preferably also have understanding of or passion in equestrian activities, alpine skiing, creative fields and music so as to influence the child in a diverse set of interests.
Furthermore though, he said the family wanted the tutor to enrol the child on a selection of classes so the child would be "horseback riding and picking up an musical instrument by the time they are about three years old".
In the family's view, helping their son develop into a "English gentleman" will result in success and open doors.
"Taking into account the advantages and disadvantages of that, because it's undoubtedly a status symbol," he adds.
However, notwithstanding all this instruction in "English culture", would the child absorb alleged cultural bias from the globally influenced family he resides with in any case?
"Yes", replied the CEO. "They know this may not work, but they've just taken the view of, 'why not attempt it and let's go as quickly as we can', because the price of it is not a concern," he said.
Overly Optimistic
A number of in the private teaching field who share those reservations.
Peter Cui, CEO and founder of an educational organization, who provides personal educators, commented that "the journey of adopting dual cultures, or in fact, forming one's identity, is something that must be lived into, not engineered."
He noted that he had moved from China to the United Kingdom at the age of seven, and had been educated understanding and embodying dual heritages. He continued to study at a prestigious UK institution.
"The notion that one individual can function as a embodiment of UK identity, someone who can in some way impart the qualities of a English gentleman to a one-year-old child, seems to me idealistic and impractical," he stated.
"From my perspective, having a quintessentially British tutor from early childhood will does not instantly create the result they want.
"I wasn't provided with such a figure, and nevertheless I have been lucky enough to live several of the opportunities they desire for their son."
He stated: "The truth is, cultural identity cannot be imposed from the external environment; it must be chosen, and it must be internally driven."
Acquiring Englishness
Naturally, Britishness is something the expert believes can be instructed – and marketed.
"I think the fact that the world regards us in this respect is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
