"Parents residing in north London seeks an remarkable and experienced instructor to support their youngest child on his first steps to growing into an British gentleman."
When reading this post, you might readily overlook the phrase "first-steps" as simple an expression.
But, it might be the crucial part of this unusual position posting, as it seeks to hire a tutor for a infant.
Hundreds of responses have now been submitted since the anonymous family advertised their request for the highly paid tutor, who needs to be "an exceptional individual".
Over the last few weeks, the advert has attracted interest across the news, with several questioning why?
Forward-Thinking Method
A tutoring expert, CEO and founder of an education consultancy, which is supporting the family in their hunt, explained that despite early scepticism, he viewed the idea "visionary", and "innovative".
When he consulted the family, he noted they recognized the unusual aspect of their request, and how early in age their son is.
However, they clarified that they "didn't want to wait any longer" to get a tutor, as they had waited until their elder sibling was five, and by that age "cultural influence had by then taken hold".
What exactly does the family refer to by "cultural predisposition"?
It's "comprehensive", he answered. "How you eat, how you speak".
He explained the elder child had adopted "really subtle, non-verbal cues" from the family, and had taken on their cultural norms. The family informed him they wished to avoid this pattern to recur with their infant.
The strategy: To bring in a UK tutor, who must speak with Received Pronunciation, to influence the baby right from the beginning.
Osmotic Learning
"A lot of the learning at the beginning here is somewhat absorbed naturally," explained the CEO.
It's by means of this osmosis that the family are expecting the child will adopt the English characteristics they wish to impart.
He explained the tutor must be someone who went to "the appropriate educational institutions – comparable categories of schools as the family hope to send their son to".
"The educator just has to be the appropriate candidate, they'll be doing things they don't even know they're doing, just naturally," he said.
Money No Object
The family explained to him the selected educator should preferably also have knowledge of or interest in equestrian activities, alpine skiing, artistic pursuits and music so as to shape the child in a diverse set of passions.
More than that though, he stated the family hoped the tutor to enrol the child on a selection of courses so the child would be "horseback riding and picking up an tool by the time they are approximately three years old".
In the family's minds, assisting their son become a "English gentleman" will bring about achievement and create opportunities.
"Considering the pros and cons of that, because it's definitely a class statement," he adds.
However, notwithstanding all this guidance in "Britishness", could the child pick up alleged cultural leaning from the international family he is raised by regardless?
"Absolutely", replied the CEO. "The parents know this might not succeed, but they've just taken the view of, 'let's give it a go and we'll proceed as quickly as we can', because the expense of it is irrelevant," he said.
Overly Optimistic
A number of in the education sector who express these concerns.
Peter Cui, CEO and founder of a tutoring service, who supplies personal educators, stated that "the journey of adopting dual cultures, or actually, forming one's identity, is something that must be lived into, not designed."
He wrote that he had moved from the Far East to the United Kingdom at the age of 7 years old, and had been raised knowing and living dual heritages. He went on to study at the University of Cambridge.
"The notion that one individual can serve as a embodiment of Britishness, an individual who can possibly impart the qualities of a British gentleman to a 12-month-old child, strikes me as idealistic and impractical," he wrote.
"In my experience, employing a typically English tutor from babyhood will does not necessarily achieve the outcome they want.
"I wasn't provided with such a figure, and however I have been lucky enough to enjoy several of the situations they hope for their son."
He continued: "The reality is, self-identity should not be dictated from the external environment; it must be selected, and it must originate internally."
Purchasing UK Culture
Naturally, Britishness is something the expert believes can be taught – and commercialized.
"In my view the fact that the international society regards us in this light is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
