"A household based in North London seeks an extraordinary and experienced tutor to guide their youngest child on his initial journey to becoming an English gentleman."
When reading this advertisement, you might naturally overlook the wording "initial stages" as just a turn of phrase.
Yet, it might be the most significant element of this unusual job advert, as it seeks to recruit a tutor for a 12-month-old.
Many of submissions have since been sent in since the anonymous family advertised their call for the £180,000 per year tutor, who must be "a uniquely qualified person".
Over the last few weeks, the post has gained attention across the media, with many asking why?
Progressive Approach
Adam Caller, chief executive of Tutors International, which is supporting the family in their quest, stated that in spite of early skepticism, he considered the concept "forward-looking", and "advanced".
When he met the family, he mentioned they appreciated the unusual aspect of their request, and how immature their son is.
But, they stated that they "were unwilling to delay any longer" to engage a tutor, as they had waited until their firstborn was five, and by that point "cultural conditioning had by then set in".
What exactly does the family refer to by "cultural predisposition"?
It's "everything", Adam replied. "How you eat, how you speak".
He said the older sibling had adopted "very nuanced, unspoken signals" from the family, and had taken on their cultural norms. The family informed him they hoped to prevent this pattern to recur with their new baby.
The plan: To bring in a UK tutor, who should speak with standard English accent, to shape the baby from the very start.
Subtle Influence
"A great deal of the learning at the outset here is somewhat acquired indirectly," explained Adam.
It's through this natural absorption that the family are expecting the child will adopt the English characteristics they want to impart.
He said the tutor must be somebody who went to "the appropriate educational institutions – the same kinds of schools as the family hope to send their son to".
"The instructor just has to be the suitable individual, they'll be performing things they aren't even aware they're doing, effortlessly," he commented.
Cost Not Relevant
The family explained to Adam the chosen tutor should ideally also have familiarity of or passion in riding, alpine skiing, the arts and music so as to shape the child in a wide range of interests.
More than that though, he stated the family desired the tutor to enrol the child on a range of lessons so the child would be "horseback riding and starting an instrument by the time they are about three years old".
In the family's perspective, guiding their son grow into a "English gentleman" will result in success and create opportunities.
"For all the pros and cons of that, because it's undoubtedly a social class indicator," he adds.
However, despite all this instruction in "Britishness", would the child adopt what is termed cultural leaning from the multicultural family he lives with regardless?
"Absolutely", answered Adam. "The parents realize this may not work, but they've simply adopted the view of, 'why not attempt it and let's go as quickly as we can', because the price of it is not a concern," he explained.
Idealistic and Unrealistic
There are some in the education sector who share those concerns.
An education leader, CEO and founder of an educational organization, who also offer individual instructors, stated that "the journey of embracing two identities, or in fact, discovering oneself, is something that must be experienced personally, not manufactured."
He noted that he had emigrated from China to the UK at the time of 7 years old, and had been educated experiencing and living two backgrounds. He went on to study at the University of Cambridge.
"The idea that a single person can act as a embodiment of Britishness, someone who can in some way transfer the qualities of a UK sophisticate upon a one-year-old child, seems to me optimistic and unrealistic," he stated.
"Based on my background, engaging a typically British tutor from infancy will does not necessarily achieve the goal they desire.
"I did not have that kind of mentor, and yet I have been lucky enough to enjoy numerous of the experiences they desire for their son."
He continued: "The reality is, self-identity can not be imposed from the external environment; it must be chosen, and it must be internally driven."
Buying Britishness
Certainly, English culture is something the expert thinks can be instructed – and marketed.
"I believe the fact that the world holds us in this light is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
