"Parents located in north London wants to find an exceptional and qualified instructor to guide their youngest child on his first steps to turning into an British gentleman."
Looking at this listing, you might readily skip the wording "first-steps" as mere an expression.
However, it may be the crucial part of this unusual job advert, as it seeks to recruit a tutor for a one-year-old.
Hundreds of submissions have now been submitted since the unidentified family posted their request for the £180k-a-year tutor, who must be "an exceptional individual".
In recent few weeks, the advert has attracted notice in the news, with several wondering why?
Innovative Idea
A tutoring expert, chief executive of Tutors International, which is assisting the family in their search, said that despite first scepticism, he viewed the idea "far sighted", and "innovative".
When he spoke with the family, he noted they understood the unusual aspect of their demand, and how young their son is.
But, they stated that they "were unwilling to delay any longer" to engage a tutor, as they had held off until their elder sibling was five, and by that stage "cultural conditioning had by then taken hold".
What precisely did the family indicate by "cultural leaning"?
It's "all-encompassing", Adam responded. "How you eat, the manner you speak".
He stated the firstborn had picked up "extremely delicate, unspoken signals" from the family, and had taken on their cultural habits. The family told him they hoped to prevent history to repeat itself with their younger child.
The plan: To hire a English tutor, who must speak with RP, to guide the baby from day one.
Natural Absorption
"Much of the learning at the start here is rather osmotic," explained Adam.
It's via this osmosis that the family are aiming the child will pick up the British traits they aim to cultivate.
He noted the tutor needed to be somebody who studied at "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 doing things they may not realize they're doing, effortlessly," he commented.
Cost Not Relevant
The family explained to him the selected educator should ideally also have familiarity of or interest in riding, winter sports, the arts and musical activities so as to shape the child in a wide range of hobbies.
Furthermore though, he explained the family desired the tutor to sign up the child on a range of lessons so the child would be "equestrian training and picking up an musical instrument by the time they are around three years old".
In the family's view, guiding their son become a "English gentleman" will lead to success and create opportunities.
"Considering the advantages and disadvantages of that, because it's certainly a class statement," he notes.
But, in spite of all this guidance in "English culture", would the child absorb alleged cultural bias from the multicultural family he lives with regardless?
"Yes", replied the CEO. "They understand this may not work, but they've simply adopted the view of, 'we should try and we should start as soon as we can', because the expense of it is irrelevant," he stated.
Impractical
There are some in the education sector who have these doubts.
Another CEO, CEO and founder of Blue Education, who also offer individual instructors, stated that "the journey of embracing two identities, or actually, becoming oneself, is something that must be grown into, not designed."
The expert noted that he had moved from the Far East to the UK at the time of seven, and had been educated understanding and embodying two backgrounds. He went on to learn at the University of Cambridge.
"The idea that an individual can serve as a representation of English culture, an individual who can somehow impart the attributes of a British gentleman to a 12-month-old child, appears naive and impractical," he stated.
"Based on my background, having a typically English tutor from infancy will not automatically achieve the outcome they want.
"I did not have such a figure, and however I have been privileged enough to live numerous of the opportunities they aspire for their son."
He added: "The truth is, cultural identity can not be forced from the outside influences; it must be chosen, and it must originate internally."
Buying Britishness
Certainly, Britishness is something the CEO hopes can be taught – and sold.
"In my view the situation that the international society views us in this regard is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
