"A family located in north London wants to find an exceptional and qualified tutor to assist their most junior child on his first steps to growing into an English gentleman."
Upon seeing this advertisement, you might easily miss the phrase "first-steps" as mere figurative language.
But, it could be the most significant aspect of this unusual employment listing, as it aims to recruit a teacher for a infant.
Hundreds of applications have already been received since the unidentified family published their call for the highly paid tutor, who must be "a uniquely qualified person".
Over the last few weeks, the listing has attracted interest in the news, with many asking why?
Innovative Idea
Adam Caller, chief executive of Tutors International, which is helping the family in their hunt, explained that notwithstanding early doubt, he considered the plan "visionary", and "innovative".
When he consulted the family, he said they understood the unusual aspect of their request, and how early in age their son is.
Nevertheless, they stated that they "preferred not to postpone any longer" to hire a tutor, as they had waited until their firstborn was five, and by that stage "cultural influence had already become established".
But what does the family mean by "cultural predisposition"?
It's "all-encompassing", the expert responded. "The manner you eat, how you speak".
He explained the firstborn had absorbed "really subtle, unspoken signals" from the family, and had adopted their cultural ways. The family explained to Adam they hoped to prevent this pattern to happen again with their infant.
The intention: To bring in a English tutor, who must speak with Received Pronunciation, to shape the baby from the very start.
Osmotic Learning
"A lot of the learning at the start here is somewhat acquired indirectly," explained the expert.
It's through this natural absorption that the family are expecting the child will acquire the UK customs they want to instil.
He noted the tutor needed to be somebody who went to "the right kinds of schools – the same kinds of schools as the family hope to send their son to".
"The instructor must be the right kind of person, they'll be carrying out things they aren't even aware they're doing, effortlessly," he added.
Cost Not Relevant
The family told Adam the chosen tutor should ideally also have understanding of or interest in horse riding, skiing, creative fields and music so as to influence the child in a broad spectrum of passions.
Furthermore though, he stated the family hoped the tutor to enrol the child on a range of courses so the child would be "pony-riding and picking up an tool by the time they are around three years old".
In the family's view, helping their son become a "English gentleman" will result in accomplishment and open doors.
"Taking into account the rights and wrongs of that, because it's definitely a social class indicator," he adds.
However, despite all this guidance in "Britishness", could the child absorb alleged cultural bias from the international family he lives with regardless?
"Absolutely", answered the CEO. "The family understand this could fail, but they've merely embraced the perspective of, 'let's give it a go and we should start as early as we can', because the price of it is irrelevant," he stated.
Idealistic and Unrealistic
Several in the private teaching field who have these reservations.
Peter Cui, CEO and founder of an educational organization, who also offer individual instructors, commented that "the journey of adopting dual cultures, or in fact, forming one's identity, is something that must be experienced personally, not designed."
Peter explained that he had emigrated from China to the Britain at the time of 7 years old, and had been educated knowing and living both cultures. He continued to be educated at Cambridge University.
"The concept that a single person can serve as a living vessel of English culture, an individual who can somehow impart the attributes of a UK sophisticate to a one-year-old child, strikes me as naive and unrealistic," he commented.
"In my experience, having a typically UK tutor from infancy will will not necessarily produce the outcome they hope for.
"I did not have that kind of mentor, and however I have been fortunate enough to experience several of the opportunities they desire for their son."
He continued: "The reality is, personal identity should not be imposed from the outside; it must be chosen, and it must come from within."
Acquiring Englishness
Certainly, Britishness is something the expert thinks can be educated – and commercialized.
"In my view the reality that the global community regards us in this light is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
