"Parents based in north London seeks an exceptional and skilled educator to guide their youngest child on his initial journey to turning into an English gentleman."
When reading this listing, you might easily miss the wording "initial stages" as simple figurative language.
Yet, it may be the most important element of this unusual position posting, as it seeks to find a mentor for a infant.
Hundreds of responses have since been received since the anonymous family advertised their request for the £180k-a-year tutor, who needs to be "an exceptional individual".
In recent few weeks, the advert has gained interest in the press, with many asking why?
Innovative Idea
The CEO, head and founder of an education consultancy, which is assisting the family in their search, explained that despite initial scepticism, he viewed the plan "visionary", and "advanced".
When he met the family, he said they recognized the atypical character of their requirement, and how early in age their son is.
But, they stated 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 age "cultural influence had by then become established".
But what did the family mean by "cultural leaning"?
It's "all-encompassing", Adam answered. "The manner you eat, how you speak".
He stated the older sibling had adopted "extremely delicate, non-verbal cues" from the family, and had taken on their cultural ways. The family informed him they hoped to prevent the same situation to repeat itself with their new baby.
The plan: To engage a British tutor, who must speak with Received Pronunciation, to influence the baby from day one.
Osmotic Learning
"Much of the development at the outset here is kind of acquired indirectly," stated Adam.
It's by means of this osmosis that the family are expecting the child will acquire the English characteristics they aim to impart.
He explained the tutor needed to be someone who went to "prestigious academies – comparable categories of schools as the family aspire to send their son to".
"The educator must be the appropriate candidate, they'll be carrying out things they may not realize they're doing, just naturally," he commented.
Expense Not a Factor
The family informed the expert the successful candidate should ideally also have knowledge of or interest in horse riding, alpine skiing, creative fields and instrumental training so as to influence the child in a broad spectrum of passions.
Furthermore though, he stated the family wanted the tutor to register the child on a variety of courses so the child would be "pony-riding and learning an musical instrument by the time they are approximately three years old".
In the family's perspective, helping their son grow into a "English gentleman" will result in success and open doors.
"Considering the rights and wrongs of that, because it's certainly a social class indicator," he adds.
However, despite all this guidance in "English culture", would the child pick up so-called cultural bias from the globally influenced family he resides with in any case?
"Absolutely", replied the CEO. "The parents understand this may not work, but they've simply adopted the view of, 'why not attempt it and let's go as soon as we can', because the price of it is not a concern," he said.
Overly Optimistic
There are some in the tutoring industry who share these reservations.
An education leader, chief executive of Blue Education, who supplies individual instructors, wrote that "the development of embracing two identities, or in fact, becoming oneself, is something that must be experienced personally, not designed."
Peter wrote that he had moved from China to the United Kingdom at the time of 7 years old, and had been brought up experiencing and practicing two backgrounds. He went on to study at Cambridge University.
"The idea that one individual can serve as a embodiment of Britishness, someone who can somehow transfer the characteristics of a English gentleman to a infant child, strikes me as optimistic and impractical," he stated.
"From my perspective, having a quintessentially UK tutor from infancy will not instantly produce the outcome they want.
"I wasn't provided with such a figure, and nevertheless I have been lucky enough to live several of the opportunities they hope for their son."
He stated: "The truth is, cultural identity should not be forced from the external environment; it must be selected, and it must come from within."
Purchasing UK Culture
Of course, Britishness is something Adam thinks can be educated – and sold.
"I think the situation that the international society regards us in this respect is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
