"A household located in north London wants to find an remarkable and skilled tutor to guide their smallest child on his first steps to becoming an British gentleman."
When reading this advertisement, you might readily overlook the phrase "first-steps" as mere figurative language.
Yet, it may be the most significant aspect of this unusual position posting, as it seeks to find a mentor for a one-year-old.
Many of submissions have already been sent in since the anonymous family published their call for the £180k-a-year tutor, who needs to be "a uniquely qualified person".
During the past few weeks, the listing has received interest in the media, with numerous questioning why?
Innovative Idea
A tutoring expert, CEO and founder of Tutors International, which is supporting the family in their quest, stated that in spite of initial doubt, he viewed the concept "forward-looking", and "advanced".
When he consulted the family, he noted they appreciated the unusual character of their demand, and how immature their son is.
Nevertheless, they clarified that they "didn't want to wait any longer" to hire a tutor, as they had postponed until their firstborn was five, and by that point "cultural bias had by then become established".
What precisely did the family indicate by "cultural bias"?
It's "all-encompassing", he responded. "The manner you eat, how you speak".
He explained the firstborn had adopted "very nuanced, non-verbal cues" from the family, and had adopted their cultural norms. The family told Adam they did not want the same situation to happen again with their younger child.
The plan: To bring in a British tutor, who must speak with standard English accent, to influence the baby right from the beginning.
Osmotic Learning
"A lot of the learning at the beginning here is somewhat acquired indirectly," stated Adam.
It's by means of this natural absorption that the family are hoping the child will adopt the UK customs they aim to cultivate.
He noted the tutor needed to be somebody who attended "prestigious academies – comparable categories of schools as the family aspire to send their son to".
"The tutor just has to be the suitable individual, they'll be carrying out things they may not realize they're doing, just naturally," he added.
Money No Object
The family explained to the expert the selected educator should ideally also have familiarity of or passion in equestrian activities, alpine skiing, creative fields and musical activities so as to inspire the child in a diverse set of hobbies.
Additionally though, he stated the family desired the tutor to sign up the child on a variety of classes so the child would be "pony-riding and learning an musical instrument by the time they are about three years old".
In the family's minds, helping their son develop into a "English gentleman" will bring about success and provide access.
"Taking into account the pros and cons of that, because it's undoubtedly a social class indicator," he comments.
Yet, in spite of all this tutelage in "Britishness", might the child pick up so-called cultural influence from the international family he lives with in any case?
"Absolutely", replied the CEO. "The family know this could fail, but they've just taken the view of, 'let's give it a go and let's go as early as we can', because the cost of it is not relevant," he explained.
Idealistic and Unrealistic
Several in the education sector who have these reservations.
Peter Cui, CEO and founder of an educational organization, who also offer private tutors, wrote that "the journey of becoming bicultural, or in fact, forming one's identity, is something that must be lived into, not manufactured."
The expert explained that he had emigrated from Asia to the UK at the time of 7 years old, and had been raised understanding and embodying dual heritages. He continued to learn at Cambridge University.
"The idea that a single person can serve as a embodiment of English culture, someone who can in some way transplant the qualities of a British gentleman onto a 12-month-old child, strikes me as naive and unfeasible," he stated.
"Based on my background, engaging a typically British tutor from infancy will will not automatically achieve the outcome they want.
"I wasn't provided with that kind of mentor, and yet I have been privileged enough to experience several of the situations they desire for their son."
He stated: "The reality is, cultural identity should not be forced from the external environment; it must be embraced, and it must come from within."
Acquiring Englishness
Certainly, UK identity is something the CEO believes can be instructed – and commercialized.
"In my view the fact that the global community regards us in this regard is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
