"A family located in north London wants to find an remarkable and skilled tutor to guide their youngest child on his initial journey to becoming an British gentleman."
Upon seeing this listing, you might naturally overlook the wording "initial stages" as just a turn of phrase.
But, it may be the most important element of this distinctive employment listing, as it attempts to find a tutor for a one-year-old.
Many of submissions have already been received since the unidentified family advertised their search for the £180k-a-year tutor, who must be "an exceptional individual".
During the past few weeks, the advert has received attention across the press, with several asking why?
Forward-Thinking Method
A tutoring expert, chief executive of Tutors International, which is assisting the family in their quest, explained that despite early doubt, he viewed the concept "far sighted", and "advanced".
When he met the family, he noted they understood the atypical nature of their demand, and how young their son is.
But, they clarified 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".
What precisely did the family mean by "cultural predisposition"?
It's "comprehensive", he responded. "The manner you eat, the manner you speak".
He said the elder child had absorbed "really subtle, body language" from the family, and had taken on their cultural ways. The family informed the consultant they did not want this pattern to recur with their infant.
The intention: To engage a English tutor, who needs to speak with Received Pronunciation, to shape the baby from the very start.
Subtle Influence
"Much of the education at the beginning here is somewhat osmotic," explained the expert.
It's by means of this natural absorption that the family are aiming the child will acquire the UK customs they wish to impart.
Adam said the tutor must be an individual who went to "prestigious academies – the same kinds of schools as the family aspire to send their son to".
"The tutor just has to be the appropriate candidate, they'll be carrying out things they may not realize they're doing, just naturally," he commented.
Cost Not Relevant
The family explained to Adam the chosen tutor should ideally also have familiarity of or interest in riding, winter sports, creative fields and instrumental training so as to inspire the child in a wide range of interests.
Additionally though, he said the family desired the tutor to register the child on a selection of lessons so the child would be "horseback riding and learning an instrument by the time they are around three years old".
In the family's view, helping their son develop into a "UK sophisticate" will result in success and provide access.
"Taking into account the advantages and disadvantages of that, because it's undoubtedly a class statement," he comments.
But, notwithstanding all this tutelage in "UK identity", could the child absorb what is termed cultural bias from the multicultural family he lives with anyway?
"Absolutely", replied the CEO. "The family understand this might not succeed, but they've just taken the attitude of, 'let's give it a go and let's go as quickly as we can', because the expense of it is not relevant," he stated.
Impractical
A number of in the private teaching field who express these concerns.
Another CEO, chief executive of a tutoring service, who provides personal educators, wrote that "the journey of becoming bicultural, or in fact, forming one's identity, is something that must be grown into, not manufactured."
Peter noted that he had relocated from Asia to the United Kingdom at the time of seven, and had been raised knowing and practicing dual heritages. He continued to be educated at Cambridge University.
"The concept that a single person can serve as a embodiment of Britishness, someone who can possibly transfer the qualities of a British gentleman to a one-year-old child, seems to me optimistic and unfeasible," he wrote.
"In my experience, having a quintessentially British tutor from babyhood will not automatically produce the goal they hope for.
"I never had such a figure, and yet I have been privileged enough to live many of the opportunities they desire for their son."
He continued: "The reality is, cultural identity should not be forced from the outside influences; it must be embraced, and it must be internally driven."
Purchasing UK Culture
Of course, Britishness is something the expert believes can be educated – and sold.
"I think the fact that the global community views us in this light is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
