"A household located in north London seeks an exceptional and experienced tutor to guide their most junior child on his first steps to becoming an English gentleman."
When reading this advertisement, you might readily skip the wording "first-steps" as simple figurative language.
However, it might be the most important aspect of this unusual position posting, as it aims to hire a tutor for a infant.
Numerous of submissions have already been submitted since the unnamed family published their call for the £180k-a-year tutor, who needs to be "an exceptional individual".
During the past few weeks, the advert has attracted notice across the press, with numerous questioning why?
Progressive Approach
Adam Caller, head and founder of a global tutoring firm, which is assisting the family in their quest, said that in spite of initial scepticism, he viewed the plan "far sighted", and "advanced".
When he spoke with the family, he noted they recognized the unconventional aspect of their requirement, and how immature their son is.
But, they clarified that they "didn't want to wait any longer" to hire a tutor, as they had postponed until their older child was five, and by that point "cultural conditioning had already taken hold".
What precisely did the family mean by "cultural leaning"?
It's "comprehensive", the expert answered. "How you eat, the manner you speak".
He said the older sibling had adopted "very nuanced, body language" from the family, and had assumed their cultural ways. The family informed the consultant they did not want history to repeat itself with their younger child.
The plan: To hire a British tutor, who needs to speak with standard English accent, to shape the baby right from the beginning.
Natural Absorption
"A lot of the education at the beginning here is somewhat absorbed naturally," explained the expert.
It's via this natural absorption that the family are hoping the child will acquire the UK customs they want to impart.
The consultant noted 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 educator simply needs to be the appropriate candidate, they'll be performing things they aren't even aware they're doing, just naturally," he said.
Money No Object
The family told him the successful candidate should ideally also have familiarity of or passion in riding, winter sports, the arts and instrumental training so as to inspire the child in a wide range of passions.
Furthermore though, he said the family desired the tutor to enrol the child on a variety of classes 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, guiding their son develop into a "English gentleman" will bring about success and provide access.
"Taking into account the advantages and disadvantages of that, because it's certainly a social class indicator," he notes.
However, notwithstanding all this tutelage in "English culture", could the child absorb what is termed cultural bias from the globally influenced family he resides with in any case?
"Yes", replied Adam. "The parents realize this could fail, but they've just taken the view of, 'we should try and let's go as early as we can', because the price of it is not a concern," he explained.
Overly Optimistic
There are some in the education sector who share similar doubts.
An education leader, CEO and founder of Blue Education, who provides individual instructors, commented that "the journey of adopting dual cultures, or indeed, discovering oneself, is something that must be lived into, not engineered."
He wrote that he had moved from Asia to the Britain at the period of 7 years old, and had been brought up knowing and practicing dual heritages. He progressed to be educated at a prestigious UK institution.
"The concept that one individual can act as a embodiment of Britishness, a person who can possibly transplant the characteristics of a British gentleman to a infant child, appears idealistic and unrealistic," he wrote.
"From my perspective, engaging a distinctly UK tutor from early childhood will will not necessarily produce the result they hope for.
"I never had that kind of mentor, and yet I have been lucky enough to enjoy several of the experiences they aspire for their son."
He stated: "The fact is, self-identity should not be dictated from the outside; it must be chosen, and it must be internally driven."
Acquiring Englishness
Of course, UK identity is something the expert thinks can be taught – and marketed.
"I believe the reality that the global community regards us in this respect is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
