"Parents residing in north London is looking for an exceptional and qualified tutor to assist their most junior child on his initial journey to growing into an British gentleman."
Upon seeing this advertisement, you might readily miss the phrase "initial stages" as simple figurative language.
Yet, it may be the most important aspect of this distinctive employment listing, as it attempts to recruit a mentor for a infant.
Hundreds of applications have now been received since the unidentified family advertised their search for the £180,000 per year tutor, who has to be "an exceptional individual".
In recent few weeks, the listing has received interest across the media, with several questioning why?
Progressive Approach
Adam Caller, chief executive of Tutors International, which is assisting the family in their quest, said that despite early scepticism, he found the plan "forward-looking", and "advanced".
When he consulted the family, he said they appreciated the unusual nature of their requirement, and how young their son is.
Nevertheless, they stated that they "were unwilling to delay any longer" to hire a tutor, as they had postponed until their firstborn was five, and by that age "cultural conditioning had by then taken hold".
What exactly did the family mean by "cultural bias"?
It's "comprehensive", he replied. "The way you eat, the way you speak".
He explained the older sibling had picked up "really subtle, non-verbal cues" from the family, and had assumed their cultural norms. The family explained to Adam they did not want history to repeat itself with their infant.
The plan: To engage a UK tutor, who needs to speak with Received Pronunciation, to influence the baby right from the beginning.
Subtle Influence
"A lot of the learning at the outset here is rather acquired indirectly," explained the CEO.
It's via this osmosis that the family are expecting the child will pick up the English characteristics they wish to instil.
Adam said the tutor must be someone who went to "the appropriate educational institutions – similar types of schools as the family aspire to send their son to".
"The instructor just has to be the suitable individual, they'll be performing things they may not realize they're doing, just naturally," he said.
Money No Object
The family told Adam the selected educator should ideally also have familiarity of or passion in horse riding, skiing, artistic pursuits and music so as to shape the child in a diverse set of passions.
Additionally though, he explained the family wanted the tutor to sign up the child on a range of courses so the child would be "horseback riding and picking up an instrument by the time they are about three years old".
In the family's view, helping their son become a "UK sophisticate" will bring about achievement and create opportunities.
"Considering the rights and wrongs of that, because it's certainly a social class indicator," he adds.
Yet, notwithstanding all this tutelage in "Britishness", would the child pick up what is termed cultural influence from the international family he lives with in any case?
"Absolutely", answered the CEO. "They know this may not work, but they've simply adopted the perspective of, 'why not attempt it and let's go as quickly as we can', because the expense of it is not a concern," he explained.
Idealistic and Unrealistic
Several in the private teaching field who share these doubts.
An education leader, CEO and founder of Blue Education, who provides private tutors, commented that "the journey of becoming bicultural, or actually, becoming oneself, is something that must be experienced personally, not engineered."
Peter noted that he had emigrated from the Far East to the UK at the period of seven, and had been educated experiencing and practicing dual heritages. He progressed to be educated at Cambridge University.
"The idea that a single person can serve as a embodiment of UK identity, a person who can possibly impart the characteristics of a UK sophisticate onto a 12-month-old child, strikes me as optimistic and unrealistic," he stated.
"Based on my background, engaging a quintessentially British tutor from early childhood will does not necessarily produce the result they hope for.
"I wasn't provided with such a figure, and yet I have been lucky enough to live numerous of the opportunities they desire for their son."
He added: "The reality is, personal identity cannot be forced from the outside influences; it must be chosen, and it must come from within."
Acquiring Englishness
Naturally, English culture is something the CEO believes can be instructed – and marketed.
"I think the fact that the world regards us in this respect is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
