"Parents residing in the northern part of London is looking for an remarkable and skilled tutor to assist their youngest child on his first steps to turning into an English gentleman."
Looking at this advertisement, you might readily overlook the term "initial stages" as mere a turn of phrase.
But, it may be the most important element of this unique job advert, as it seeks to find a teacher for a infant.
Numerous of submissions have now been submitted since the anonymous family published their search for the £180k-a-year tutor, who has to be "a uniquely qualified person".
Over the last few weeks, the listing has attracted attention in the press, with numerous questioning why?
Forward-Thinking Method
A tutoring expert, chief executive of a global tutoring firm, which is helping the family in their quest, explained that in spite of initial doubt, he found the concept "forward-looking", and "progressive".
When he met the family, he mentioned they recognized the unconventional aspect of their requirement, and how immature their son is.
Nevertheless, they clarified that they "didn't want to wait any longer" to get a tutor, as they had held off 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 "all-encompassing", the expert replied. "The manner you eat, the manner you speak".
He explained the firstborn had adopted "extremely delicate, non-verbal cues" from the family, and had taken on their cultural norms. The family informed the consultant they did not want the same situation to repeat itself with their younger child.
The plan: To engage a UK tutor, who needs to speak with Received Pronunciation, to guide the baby from day one.
Natural Absorption
"Much of the development at the beginning here is somewhat absorbed naturally," explained Adam.
It's by means of this osmosis that the family are aiming the child will adopt the British traits they wish to instil.
The consultant said the tutor needed to be somebody who went to "the right kinds of schools – similar types of schools as the family aspire to send their son to".
"The educator simply needs to be the appropriate candidate, they'll be performing things they may not realize they're doing, just naturally," he commented.
Money No Object
The family informed Adam the chosen tutor should ideally also have knowledge of or enthusiasm in horse riding, alpine skiing, artistic pursuits and music so as to inspire the child in a wide range of hobbies.
Furthermore though, he stated the family wanted the tutor to register the child on a selection of lessons so the child would be "equestrian training and starting an instrument by the time they are around three years old".
In the family's view, helping their son grow into a "English gentleman" will lead to achievement and create opportunities.
"Taking into account the pros and cons of that, because it's certainly a class statement," he notes.
However, notwithstanding all this tutelage in "English culture", might the child adopt so-called cultural leaning from the globally influenced family he lives with regardless?
"Certainly", replied he. "The parents know this might not succeed, but they've simply adopted the attitude of, 'we should try and let's go as soon as we can', because the expense of it is not a concern," he explained.
Idealistic and Unrealistic
A number of in the education sector who share these doubts.
Another CEO, chief executive of Blue Education, who supplies personal educators, commented that "the journey of becoming bicultural, or indeed, becoming oneself, is something that must be experienced personally, not engineered."
Peter noted that he had moved from the Far East to the Britain at the time of seven, and had been raised knowing and practicing two backgrounds. He progressed to be educated at a prestigious UK institution.
"The notion that one individual can act as a embodiment of English culture, a person who can somehow impart the qualities of a English gentleman upon a 12-month-old child, strikes me as idealistic and unfeasible," he commented.
"In my experience, engaging a quintessentially English tutor from early childhood will does not automatically produce the outcome they hope for.
"I never had such a figure, and yet I have been lucky enough to experience several of the opportunities they hope for their son."
He continued: "The truth is, self-identity cannot be dictated from the external environment; it must be selected, and it must be internally driven."
Buying Britishness
Of course, Britishness is something the CEO hopes can be taught – and marketed.
"I think the situation that the international society holds us in this regard is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
