"A family residing in North London is looking for an exceptional and experienced instructor to assist their smallest child on his initial journey to turning into an English gentleman."
When reading this post, you might readily miss the phrase "initial stages" as just a turn of phrase.
Yet, it may be the most important aspect of this unusual position posting, as it attempts to hire a mentor for a one-year-old.
Hundreds of submissions have already been submitted since the unidentified family published their search for the £180,000 per year tutor, who has to be "someone very special".
During the past few weeks, the advert has gained notice throughout the news, with several asking why?
Progressive Approach
The CEO, head and founder of Tutors International, which is supporting the family in their hunt, stated that notwithstanding initial scepticism, he found the idea "forward-looking", and "innovative".
When he spoke with the family, he mentioned they appreciated the unconventional nature of their request, and how early in age their son is.
But, they explained that they "preferred not to postpone any longer" to engage a tutor, as they had postponed until their firstborn was five, and by that stage "cultural influence had already become established".
What precisely does the family indicate by "cultural predisposition"?
It's "all-encompassing", the expert answered. "How you eat, the way you speak".
He explained the firstborn had adopted "very nuanced, body language" from the family, and had assumed their cultural ways. The family explained to Adam they wished to avoid history to repeat itself with their infant.
The strategy: To engage a English tutor, who must speak with RP, to shape the baby right from the beginning.
Subtle Influence
"A great deal of the learning at the start here is kind of acquired indirectly," said the CEO.
It's through this natural absorption that the family are expecting the child will pick up the English characteristics they aim to cultivate.
He explained the tutor had to be somebody who studied at "prestigious academies – the same kinds of schools as the family hope to send their son to".
"The educator simply needs to be the suitable individual, they'll be doing things they may not realize they're doing, simply by nature," he commented.
Expense Not a Factor
The family informed him the chosen tutor should preferably also have familiarity of or interest in riding, winter sports, artistic pursuits and music so as to inspire the child in a wide range of passions.
Furthermore though, he explained the family desired the tutor to sign up the child on a variety of classes so the child would be "equestrian training and learning an tool by the time they are about three years old".
In the family's minds, assisting their son grow into a "UK sophisticate" will lead to success and open doors.
"Taking into account the advantages and disadvantages of that, because it's definitely a status symbol," he notes.
But, despite all this guidance in "Britishness", would the child pick up alleged cultural influence from the multicultural family he resides with anyway?
"Certainly", answered the CEO. "The family understand this might not succeed, but they've merely embraced the perspective of, 'let's give it a go and we'll proceed as quickly as we can', because the price of it is not relevant," he said.
Impractical
A number of in the education sector who express those doubts.
Peter Cui, chief executive of a tutoring service, who supplies private tutors, stated that "the journey of embracing two identities, or in fact, becoming oneself, is something that must be experienced personally, not engineered."
He wrote that he had relocated from China to the United Kingdom at the time of childhood, and had been educated understanding and living both cultures. He continued to study at the University of Cambridge.
"The idea that one individual can act as a embodiment of UK identity, a person who can in some way impart the qualities of a British gentleman to a 12-month-old child, strikes me as naive and impractical," he stated.
"In my experience, employing a typically British tutor from early childhood will not necessarily achieve the result they hope for.
"I did not have that kind of mentor, and yet I have been lucky enough to enjoy numerous of the situations they hope for their son."
He continued: "The truth is, self-identity should not be imposed from the outside; it must be chosen, and it must originate internally."
Purchasing UK Culture
Of course, English culture is something the CEO hopes can be instructed – and sold.
"I believe the reality that the world holds us in this regard is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
