"Parents located in north London is looking for an remarkable and skilled tutor to support their smallest child on his first steps to growing into an British gentleman."
When reading this listing, you might readily skip the term "first-steps" as simple figurative language.
Yet, it might be the crucial aspect of this unique position posting, as it seeks to find a mentor for a infant.
Hundreds of responses have now been received since the unidentified family posted their call for the £180k-a-year tutor, who has to be "a uniquely qualified person".
During the past few weeks, the listing has gained interest throughout the media, with numerous asking why?
Forward-Thinking Method
Adam Caller, chief executive of an education consultancy, which is supporting the family in their search, explained that despite initial doubt, he considered the idea "visionary", and "innovative".
When he consulted the family, he said they recognized the atypical nature of their requirement, and how early in age their son is.
But, they stated that they "were unwilling to delay any longer" to hire a tutor, as they had waited until their older child was five, and by that point "cultural bias had already become established".
What exactly did the family indicate by "cultural leaning"?
It's "everything", Adam answered. "The way you eat, the way you speak".
He explained the elder child had adopted "really subtle, body language" from the family, and had assumed their cultural ways. The family explained to him they wished to avoid the same situation to repeat itself with their younger child.
The plan: To engage a English tutor, who should speak with RP, to shape the baby right from the beginning.
Subtle Influence
"Much of the development at the beginning here is kind of acquired indirectly," stated the expert.
It's by means of this subtle influence that the family are hoping the child will pick up the English characteristics they aim to cultivate.
The consultant noted the tutor must be somebody who went to "prestigious academies – the same kinds of schools as the family aspire to send their son to".
"The instructor must be the appropriate candidate, they'll be performing things they may not realize they're doing, effortlessly," he said.
Expense Not a Factor
The family told him the chosen tutor should preferably also have familiarity of or enthusiasm in horse riding, winter sports, the arts and instrumental training so as to shape the child in a broad spectrum of interests.
Additionally though, he stated the family wanted the tutor to register the child on a range of classes so the child would be "pony-riding and learning an instrument by the time they are approximately three years old".
In the family's view, assisting their son develop into a "British gentleman" will result in achievement and open doors.
"For all the advantages and disadvantages of that, because it's certainly a class statement," he adds.
However, in spite of all this guidance in "Britishness", might the child absorb alleged cultural influence from the international family he is raised by anyway?
"Yes", replied Adam. "The family realize this could fail, but they've simply adopted the perspective of, 'why not attempt it and let's go as early as we can', because the price of it is irrelevant," he explained.
Impractical
There are some in the tutoring industry who express those reservations.
Another CEO, CEO and founder of an educational organization, who also offer individual instructors, stated that "the process of becoming bicultural, or actually, forming one's identity, is something that must be experienced personally, not designed."
The expert noted that he had relocated from the Far East to the United Kingdom at the time of seven, and had been brought up knowing and practicing dual heritages. He went on to study at a prestigious UK institution.
"The idea that a single person can act as a representation of Britishness, a person who can somehow transfer the characteristics of a British gentleman upon a 12-month-old child, appears optimistic and unrealistic," he commented.
"In my experience, engaging a typically English tutor from infancy will does not necessarily produce the goal they want.
"I wasn't provided with such a figure, and however I have been privileged enough to experience numerous of the situations they aspire for their son."
He continued: "The fact is, cultural identity should not be forced from the external environment; it must be chosen, and it must come from within."
Purchasing UK Culture
Of course, English culture is something the CEO thinks can be educated – and commercialized.
"I believe the fact that the global community regards us in this respect is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
