"A household residing in the northern part of London is looking for an exceptional and qualified tutor to assist their smallest child on his first steps to becoming an English gentleman."
Looking at this advertisement, you might naturally skip the wording "initial stages" as simple an expression.
But, it might be the crucial element of this distinctive job advert, as it seeks to hire a mentor for a one-year-old.
Numerous of responses have since been sent in since the unnamed family posted their request for the £180,000 per year tutor, who must be "an exceptional individual".
Over the last few weeks, the listing has gained notice across the news, with several asking why?
Forward-Thinking Method
Adam Caller, head and founder of an education consultancy, which is supporting the family in their quest, said that notwithstanding initial scepticism, he viewed the plan "far sighted", and "advanced".
When he met the family, he said they recognized the atypical aspect of their demand, and how immature their son is.
However, they stated that they "were unwilling to delay any longer" to engage a tutor, as they had postponed until their elder sibling was five, and by that stage "cultural bias had already become established".
What precisely did the family indicate by "cultural leaning"?
It's "everything", the expert responded. "How you eat, the way you speak".
He stated the older sibling had picked up "very nuanced, body language" from the family, and had assumed their cultural norms. The family informed Adam they hoped to prevent the same situation to happen again with their new baby.
The intention: To bring in a UK tutor, who should speak with Received Pronunciation, to shape the baby from the very start.
Osmotic Learning
"A lot of the education at the start here is somewhat absorbed naturally," explained the CEO.
It's via this osmosis that the family are expecting the child will acquire the English characteristics they aim to impart.
He noted the tutor needed to be somebody who attended "the right kinds of schools – similar types of schools as the family aspire to send their son to".
"The educator must be the suitable individual, they'll be performing things they don't even know they're doing, just naturally," he commented.
Money No Object
The family told the expert the successful candidate should preferably also have understanding of or enthusiasm in horse riding, skiing, artistic pursuits and instrumental training so as to inspire the child in a broad spectrum of hobbies.
More than that though, he stated the family wanted the tutor to register the child on a range of courses so the child would be "equestrian training and starting an musical instrument by the time they are approximately three years old".
In the family's view, guiding their son become a "UK sophisticate" will bring about accomplishment and create opportunities.
"For all the advantages and disadvantages of that, because it's definitely a social class indicator," he notes.
But, despite all this guidance in "UK identity", would the child adopt so-called cultural influence from the multicultural family he resides with in any case?
"Certainly", answered he. "They understand this may not work, but they've just taken the attitude of, 'why not attempt it and we should start as soon as we can', because the price of it is irrelevant," he stated.
Impractical
A number of in the private teaching field who express these concerns.
An education leader, chief executive of Blue Education, who provides private tutors, wrote that "the development of becoming bicultural, or indeed, becoming oneself, is something that must be experienced personally, not manufactured."
He noted that he had moved from the Far East to the UK at the age of seven, and had been educated knowing and practicing dual heritages. He progressed to learn at Cambridge University.
"The notion that a single person can function as a embodiment of UK identity, someone who can in some way transfer the attributes of a British gentleman to a 12-month-old child, appears naive and unfeasible," he stated.
"Based on my background, having a typically English tutor from babyhood will will not instantly create the goal they want.
"I did not have such a tutor, and however I have been lucky enough to experience several of the opportunities they aspire for their son."
He added: "The reality is, self-identity can not be forced from the outside influences; it must be selected, and it must originate internally."
Buying Britishness
Naturally, Britishness is something the expert hopes can be instructed – and commercialized.
"I believe the situation that the global community views us in this light is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
