"A household residing in North London seeks an extraordinary and skilled tutor to assist their smallest child on his first steps to turning into an British gentleman."
Upon seeing this advertisement, you might naturally miss the phrase "first-steps" as simple an expression.
However, it may be the most important element of this distinctive position posting, as it seeks to hire a mentor for a 12-month-old.
Many of applications have now been received since the unnamed family advertised their call for the £180,000 per year tutor, who has to be "someone very special".
In recent few weeks, the post has received interest in the press, with numerous questioning why?
Innovative Idea
The CEO, chief executive of a global tutoring firm, which is assisting the family in their hunt, said that in spite of early doubt, he found the concept "forward-looking", and "advanced".
When he consulted the family, he noted they recognized the unconventional nature of their requirement, and how immature their son is.
However, they clarified that they "were unwilling to delay any longer" to hire a tutor, as they had held off until their elder sibling was five, and by that age "cultural bias had already taken hold".
What exactly did the family refer to by "cultural predisposition"?
It's "comprehensive", Adam responded. "The way you eat, the way you speak".
He stated the elder child had adopted "extremely delicate, body language" from the family, and had assumed their cultural norms. The family explained to him they hoped to prevent this pattern to recur with their infant.
The strategy: To bring in a English tutor, who must speak with standard English accent, to guide the baby from the very start.
Osmotic Learning
"A great deal of the development at the beginning here is somewhat acquired indirectly," explained Adam.
It's by means of this natural absorption that the family are expecting the child will adopt the English characteristics they want to instil.
Adam said the tutor needed to be an individual who studied at "the right kinds of schools – the same kinds of schools as the family aspire to send their son to".
"The tutor must be the suitable individual, they'll be performing things they may not realize they're doing, simply by nature," he commented.
Expense Not a Factor
The family explained to Adam the chosen tutor should preferably also have knowledge of or enthusiasm in equestrian activities, alpine skiing, creative fields and musical activities so as to influence the child in a broad spectrum of interests.
Furthermore though, he said the family hoped the tutor to enrol the child on a selection of lessons so the child would be "horseback riding and starting an musical instrument by the time they are around three years old".
In the family's minds, helping their son grow into a "UK sophisticate" will lead to success and open doors.
"For all the rights and wrongs of that, because it's certainly a status symbol," he comments.
But, in spite of all this instruction in "UK identity", could the child absorb what is termed cultural bias from the multicultural family he is raised by in any case?
"Absolutely", replied he. "They understand this might not succeed, but they've simply adopted the perspective of, 'let's give it a go and we'll proceed as soon as we can', because the expense of it is not relevant," he stated.
Overly Optimistic
Several in the education sector who express similar doubts.
An education leader, chief executive of Blue Education, who supplies private tutors, commented that "the development of embracing two identities, or in fact, forming one's identity, is something that must be experienced personally, not designed."
He wrote that he had emigrated from the Far East to the UK at the age of seven, and had been brought up knowing and practicing both cultures. He went on to study at a prestigious UK institution.
"The notion that one individual can function as a living vessel of UK identity, a person who can possibly impart the qualities of a English gentleman onto a 12-month-old child, strikes me as naive and impractical," he wrote.
"From my perspective, having a typically English tutor from infancy will not instantly create the goal they want.
"I wasn't provided with that kind of mentor, and nevertheless I have been lucky enough to live several of the opportunities they aspire for their son."
He added: "The reality is, cultural identity can not be imposed from the outside influences; it must be chosen, and it must originate internally."
Purchasing UK Culture
Of course, English culture is something the CEO thinks can be educated – and commercialized.
"I think the reality that the global community regards us in this respect is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
