"A family based in north London wants to find an exceptional and experienced educator to guide their youngest child on his initial journey to turning into an English gentleman."
When reading this advertisement, you might easily overlook the wording "initial stages" as simple figurative language.
However, it could be the most important part of this distinctive employment listing, as it aims to hire a teacher for a infant.
Many of submissions have now been received since the unnamed family posted their search for the £180,000 per year tutor, who has to be "an exceptional individual".
During the past few weeks, the post has gained attention throughout the media, with numerous questioning why?
Forward-Thinking Method
Adam Caller, CEO and founder of an education consultancy, which is helping the family in their search, said that despite first scepticism, he viewed the plan "forward-looking", and "progressive".
When he met the family, he mentioned they recognized the unconventional character of their demand, and how early in age their son is.
Nevertheless, they stated that they "preferred not to postpone any longer" to get a tutor, as they had postponed until their elder sibling was five, and by that point "cultural bias had already become established".
But what does the family mean by "cultural bias"?
It's "comprehensive", he responded. "The manner you eat, how you speak".
He stated the elder child had absorbed "really subtle, non-verbal cues" from the family, and had assumed their cultural norms. The family informed him they wished to avoid the same situation to repeat itself with their younger child.
The plan: To hire a English tutor, who needs to speak with Received Pronunciation, to shape the baby right from the beginning.
Osmotic Learning
"A lot of the education at the beginning here is rather osmotic," stated Adam.
It's by means of this natural absorption that the family are hoping the child will adopt the English characteristics they want to impart.
The consultant noted the tutor had to be someone who studied at "the appropriate educational institutions – comparable categories of schools as the family aspire to send their son to".
"The instructor simply needs to be the suitable individual, they'll be carrying out things they don't even know they're doing, effortlessly," he added.
Expense Not a Factor
The family explained to him the selected educator should ideally also have understanding of or passion in horse riding, alpine skiing, artistic pursuits and musical activities so as to influence the child in a wide range of passions.
Additionally though, he explained the family wanted the tutor to enrol the child on a range of classes so the child would be "pony-riding and picking up an tool by the time they are around three years old".
In the family's minds, guiding their son develop into a "UK sophisticate" will lead to achievement and create opportunities.
"Taking into account the rights and wrongs of that, because it's certainly a social class indicator," he notes.
Yet, notwithstanding all this tutelage in "Britishness", might the child absorb what is termed cultural leaning from the multicultural family he lives with regardless?
"Yes", said Adam. "The parents understand this could fail, but they've simply adopted the perspective of, 'why not attempt it and we should start as early as we can', because the cost of it is not a concern," he stated.
Idealistic and Unrealistic
A number of in the tutoring industry who have those doubts.
An education leader, head and founder of Blue Education, who supplies personal educators, stated that "the development of becoming bicultural, or actually, forming one's identity, is something that must be lived into, not manufactured."
The expert explained that he had relocated from Asia to the UK at the age of seven, and had been brought up experiencing and embodying dual heritages. He progressed to be educated at Cambridge University.
"The idea that an individual can act as a representation of English culture, someone who can somehow transplant the attributes of a English gentleman upon a 12-month-old child, strikes me as idealistic and unfeasible," he wrote.
"Based on my background, having a typically British tutor from early childhood will will not automatically produce the goal they desire.
"I did not have that kind of mentor, and yet I have been fortunate enough to experience several of the opportunities they hope for their son."
He added: "The reality is, cultural identity should not be dictated from the external environment; it must be embraced, and it must originate internally."
Buying Britishness
Certainly, UK identity is something Adam hopes can be taught – and commercialized.
"I think the fact that the global community holds us in this regard is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
