"Parents residing in North London wants to find an remarkable and experienced instructor to guide their most junior child on his first steps to growing into an English gentleman."
Upon seeing this advertisement, you might naturally overlook the wording "first-steps" as just a turn of phrase.
Yet, it could be the most important element of this unusual job advert, as it seeks to hire a mentor for a one-year-old.
Numerous of applications have now been submitted since the unidentified family published their call for the £180,000 per year tutor, who needs to be "an exceptional individual".
Over the last few weeks, the advert has attracted interest throughout the news, with several asking why?
Innovative Idea
The CEO, head and founder of an education consultancy, which is helping the family in their quest, said that despite initial skepticism, he considered the plan "visionary", and "progressive".
When he consulted the family, he noted they understood the atypical character of their requirement, and how immature their son is.
But, they stated that they "were unwilling to delay any longer" to get a tutor, as they had postponed until their older child was five, and by that point "cultural bias had already taken hold".
What exactly did the family indicate by "cultural bias"?
It's "comprehensive", he responded. "The way you eat, the manner you speak".
He explained the older sibling had picked up "very nuanced, unspoken signals" from the family, and had assumed their cultural ways. The family told him they did not want history to happen again with their infant.
The strategy: To bring in a UK tutor, who needs to speak with Received Pronunciation, to shape the baby from the very start.
Osmotic Learning
"A great deal of the education at the outset here is kind of absorbed naturally," said Adam.
It's via this osmosis that the family are expecting the child will adopt the English characteristics they aim to impart.
The consultant explained the tutor must be somebody who attended "the right kinds of schools – comparable categories of schools as the family aspire to send their son to".
"The educator just has to be the right kind of person, they'll be performing things they don't even know they're doing, just naturally," he commented.
Expense Not a Factor
The family informed the expert the successful candidate should ideally also have understanding of or passion in horse riding, skiing, the arts and music so as to inspire the child in a broad spectrum of interests.
Additionally though, he said the family hoped the tutor to enrol the child on a variety of courses so the child would be "equestrian training and learning an tool by the time they are about three years old".
In the family's perspective, helping their son develop into a "UK sophisticate" will bring about achievement and provide access.
"Considering the rights and wrongs of that, because it's certainly a class statement," he notes.
Yet, in spite of all this instruction in "English culture", might the child pick up so-called cultural influence from the multicultural family he resides with in any case?
"Certainly", answered he. "They realize this could fail, but they've just taken the attitude of, 'why not attempt it and we should start as soon as we can', because the expense of it is not a concern," he explained.
Overly Optimistic
Several in the private teaching field who share similar concerns.
Another CEO, head and founder of an educational organization, who also offer individual instructors, wrote that "the process of embracing two identities, or in fact, forming one's identity, is something that must be lived into, not engineered."
Peter noted that he had moved from China to the UK at the age of 7 years old, and had been educated knowing and embodying two backgrounds. He progressed to learn at the University of Cambridge.
"The idea that an individual can serve as a representation of Britishness, someone who can somehow transfer the characteristics of a British gentleman upon a infant child, appears optimistic and unfeasible," he wrote.
"From my perspective, employing a typically English tutor from infancy will not automatically create the goal they desire.
"I never had such a figure, and however I have been lucky enough to experience many of the experiences they hope for their son."
He stated: "The reality is, cultural identity cannot be imposed from the external environment; it must be selected, and it must come from within."
Purchasing UK Culture
Of course, UK identity is something the CEO thinks can be educated – and sold.
"I think the situation that the global community regards us in this respect is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
