"A household based in the northern part of London wants to find an exceptional and qualified instructor to assist their most junior child on his initial journey to growing into an British gentleman."
When reading this advertisement, you might naturally skip the term "initial stages" as simple an expression.
But, it might be the most significant aspect of this unique employment listing, as it aims to find a tutor for a infant.
Numerous of submissions have now been submitted since the unidentified family posted their request for the £180,000 per year tutor, who must be "an exceptional individual".
In recent few weeks, the post has attracted attention in the press, with numerous wondering why?
Innovative Idea
Adam Caller, head and founder of a global tutoring firm, which is supporting the family in their quest, stated that despite first skepticism, he viewed the idea "forward-looking", and "progressive".
When he met the family, he mentioned they appreciated the unusual aspect of their demand, and how young their son is.
However, they clarified that they "preferred not to postpone any longer" to hire a tutor, as they had postponed until their firstborn was five, and by that stage "cultural influence had already set in".
What exactly does the family mean by "cultural bias"?
It's "all-encompassing", he replied. "The manner you eat, the manner you speak".
He explained the firstborn had absorbed "extremely delicate, unspoken signals" from the family, and had taken on their cultural norms. The family informed the consultant they wished to avoid the same situation to happen again with their younger child.
The intention: To bring in a UK tutor, who needs to speak with standard English accent, to influence the baby from the very start.
Osmotic Learning
"A great deal of the development at the start here is kind of osmotic," said Adam.
It's by means of this natural absorption that the family are hoping the child will acquire the English characteristics they aim to cultivate.
The consultant said the tutor must be someone who studied at "prestigious academies – similar types of schools as the family plan to send their son to".
"The educator just has to be the appropriate candidate, they'll be carrying out things they aren't even aware they're doing, just naturally," he said.
Expense Not a Factor
The family told Adam the chosen tutor should ideally also have knowledge of or interest in equestrian activities, alpine skiing, the arts and instrumental training so as to influence the child in a diverse set of interests.
Additionally though, he said the family hoped the tutor to register the child on a selection of lessons so the child would be "equestrian training and learning an instrument by the time they are around three years old".
In the family's view, helping their son grow into a "UK sophisticate" will lead to accomplishment and open doors.
"For all the rights and wrongs of that, because it's certainly a class statement," he notes.
However, in spite of all this guidance in "Britishness", could the child absorb what is termed cultural bias from the globally influenced family he lives with anyway?
"Certainly", answered the CEO. "They know this may not work, but they've simply adopted the perspective of, 'why not attempt it and let's go as soon as we can', because the expense of it is irrelevant," he said.
Impractical
There are some in the tutoring industry who share similar reservations.
Peter Cui, CEO and founder of Blue Education, who also offer personal educators, commented that "the journey of adopting dual cultures, or in fact, forming one's identity, is something that must be lived into, not engineered."
Peter explained that he had emigrated from Asia to the Britain at the age of seven, and had been brought up knowing and practicing both cultures. He progressed to learn at a prestigious UK institution.
"The concept that one individual can act as a representation of Britishness, an individual who can somehow transfer the qualities of a English gentleman onto a 12-month-old child, strikes me as idealistic and unfeasible," he stated.
"From my perspective, having a distinctly UK tutor from early childhood will does not instantly produce the result they want.
"I never had such a figure, and nevertheless I have been fortunate enough to live numerous of the experiences they hope for their son."
He added: "The truth is, self-identity can not be forced from the outside; it must be chosen, and it must come from within."
Purchasing UK Culture
Of course, Britishness is something the expert hopes can be educated – and sold.
"I believe the fact that the world views us in this regard is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
