"A household located in the northern part of London wants to find an extraordinary and qualified instructor to guide their smallest child on his first steps to becoming an British gentleman."
Upon seeing this advertisement, you might naturally skip the phrase "first-steps" as just figurative language.
Yet, it may be the crucial part of this unique employment listing, as it aims to find a mentor for a 12-month-old.
Hundreds of submissions have already been received since the unnamed family published their request for the £180k-a-year tutor, who needs to be "someone very special".
In recent few weeks, the listing has gained notice throughout the media, with numerous wondering why?
Innovative Idea
A tutoring expert, head and founder of Tutors International, which is helping the family in their hunt, explained that in spite of early doubt, he found the concept "visionary", and "advanced".
When he met the family, he mentioned they recognized the unusual aspect of their demand, and how immature their son is.
However, they explained that they "preferred not to postpone any longer" to hire a tutor, as they had postponed until their firstborn was five, and by that point "cultural influence had by then taken hold".
What precisely does the family indicate by "cultural bias"?
It's "everything", the expert responded. "How you eat, the way you speak".
He said the older sibling had adopted "extremely delicate, body language" from the family, and had taken on their cultural ways. The family told him they wished to avoid the same situation to happen again with their younger child.
The strategy: To hire a English tutor, who needs to speak with standard English accent, to guide the baby from the very start.
Natural Absorption
"A lot of the learning at the beginning here is rather acquired indirectly," explained the CEO.
It's via this natural absorption that the family are expecting the child will acquire the UK customs they want to cultivate.
He said the tutor had to be an individual who studied at "prestigious academies – similar types of schools as the family hope to send their son to".
"The tutor 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.
Expense Not a Factor
The family told the expert the successful candidate should ideally also have understanding of or passion in equestrian activities, alpine skiing, the arts and music so as to shape the child in a broad spectrum of hobbies.
Furthermore though, he explained the family hoped the tutor to enrol the child on a range of lessons 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, helping their son grow into a "English gentleman" will bring about achievement and open doors.
"Taking into account the advantages and disadvantages of that, because it's undoubtedly a social class indicator," he notes.
But, notwithstanding all this tutelage in "Britishness", would the child adopt what is termed cultural influence from the multicultural family he lives with in any case?
"Yes", answered he. "The family realize this might not succeed, but they've simply adopted the attitude of, 'let's give it a go and we should start as soon as we can', because the cost of it is irrelevant," he explained.
Idealistic and Unrealistic
Several in the education sector who share those reservations.
Another CEO, head and founder of an educational organization, who supplies private tutors, stated that "the process of embracing two identities, or in fact, discovering oneself, is something that must be lived into, not manufactured."
Peter noted that he had emigrated from China to the UK at the time of childhood, and had been raised experiencing and embodying dual heritages. He progressed to study at the University of Cambridge.
"The concept that one individual can serve as a living vessel of UK identity, someone who can somehow impart the qualities of a UK sophisticate to a 12-month-old child, strikes me as idealistic and impractical," he stated.
"From my perspective, having a distinctly UK tutor from babyhood will will not necessarily create the result they want.
"I did not have such a figure, and however I have been privileged enough to experience numerous of the opportunities they hope for their son."
He continued: "The truth is, cultural identity cannot be dictated from the external environment; it must be selected, and it must originate internally."
Purchasing UK Culture
Of course, English culture is something Adam hopes can be instructed – and commercialized.
"In my view the reality that the world views us in this respect is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
