"A household located in North London is looking for an exceptional and skilled tutor to support their youngest child on his early path to growing into an British gentleman."
When reading this listing, you might readily overlook the phrase "beginning" as simple a turn of phrase.
However, it could be the most important part of this distinctive position posting, as it attempts to recruit a teacher for a 12-month-old.
Numerous of submissions have already been sent in since the unnamed family published their search for the highly paid tutor, who needs to be "an exceptional individual".
Over the last few weeks, the post has received attention across the media, with many questioning why?
Progressive Approach
Adam Caller, CEO and founder of a global tutoring firm, which is assisting the family in their hunt, said that in spite of first skepticism, he considered the idea "forward-looking", and "advanced".
When he met the family, he mentioned they understood the unconventional aspect of their requirement, and how early in age their son is.
But, they clarified that they "were unwilling to delay any longer" to get a tutor, as they had waited until their firstborn was five, and by that age "cultural conditioning had already set in".
But what does the family mean by "cultural predisposition"?
It's "all-encompassing", the expert responded. "The way you eat, the manner you speak".
He stated the firstborn had absorbed "very nuanced, body language" from the family, and had assumed their cultural habits. The family informed him they did not want history to happen again with their infant.
The plan: To hire a UK tutor, who needs to speak with standard English accent, to influence the baby right from the beginning.
Osmotic Learning
"A lot of the learning at the beginning here is somewhat osmotic," stated the expert.
It's by means of this subtle influence that the family are hoping the child will adopt the UK customs they wish to impart.
Adam noted the tutor needed to be someone who attended "the right kinds of schools – similar types of schools as the family hope to send their son to".
"The educator simply needs to be the right kind of person, they'll be doing things they aren't even aware they're doing, simply by nature," he said.
Cost Not Relevant
The family told him the chosen tutor should ideally also have knowledge of or interest in equestrian activities, winter sports, creative fields and instrumental training so as to shape the child in a broad spectrum of hobbies.
Additionally though, he explained the family desired the tutor to enrol the child on a range of classes so the child would be "pony-riding and starting an instrument by the time they are about three years old".
In the family's view, helping their son develop into a "English gentleman" will lead to accomplishment and create opportunities.
"Considering the pros and cons of that, because it's certainly a status symbol," he adds.
However, notwithstanding all this tutelage in "Britishness", might the child adopt so-called cultural leaning from the globally influenced family he lives with anyway?
"Absolutely", answered he. "The parents know this could fail, but they've simply adopted the attitude of, 'we should try and let's go as soon as we can', because the price of it is not a concern," he explained.
Impractical
A number of in the education sector who share those doubts.
An education leader, CEO and founder of a tutoring service, who also offer private tutors, stated that "the journey of embracing two identities, or in fact, discovering oneself, is something that must be experienced personally, not manufactured."
He wrote that he had emigrated from Asia to the Britain at the time of 7 years old, and had been brought up understanding and living dual heritages. He went on to be educated at a prestigious UK institution.
"The concept that an individual can function as a living vessel of UK identity, an individual who can somehow transfer the characteristics of a English gentleman upon a infant child, appears optimistic and unfeasible," he commented.
"From my perspective, having a quintessentially UK tutor from infancy will will not automatically produce the outcome they want.
"I never had such a figure, and yet I have been fortunate enough to experience many of the situations they desire for their son."
He stated: "The fact is, cultural identity can not be imposed from the outside influences; it must be selected, and it must originate internally."
Acquiring Englishness
Of course, UK identity is something the expert believes can be instructed – and commercialized.
"I think the situation that the global community views us in this respect is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
