"A family based in the northern part of London is looking for an remarkable and skilled tutor to support their youngest child on his first steps to turning into an English gentleman."
Looking at this listing, you might easily overlook the phrase "beginning" as mere figurative language.
But, it may be the most significant aspect of this distinctive job advert, as it aims to find a tutor for a one-year-old.
Hundreds of submissions have since been submitted since the unnamed family advertised their request for the £180k-a-year tutor, who needs to be "someone very special".
In recent few weeks, the advert has gained interest in the media, with several wondering why?
Forward-Thinking Method
A tutoring expert, head and founder of Tutors International, which is assisting the family in their hunt, stated that notwithstanding early skepticism, he viewed the plan "visionary", and "innovative".
When he consulted the family, he noted they appreciated the unusual character of their demand, and how young their son is.
But, they clarified that they "didn't want to wait any longer" to hire a tutor, as they had waited until their older child was five, and by that age "cultural bias had already set in".
What exactly did the family mean by "cultural leaning"?
It's "all-encompassing", the expert replied. "The way you eat, the manner you speak".
He explained the firstborn had picked up "extremely delicate, unspoken signals" from the family, and had adopted their cultural ways. The family told the consultant they did not want the same situation to repeat itself with their infant.
The plan: To bring in a English tutor, who needs to speak with Received Pronunciation, to shape the baby from the very start.
Osmotic Learning
"Much of the development at the start here is somewhat acquired indirectly," said the CEO.
It's by means of this natural absorption that the family are aiming the child will adopt the British traits they want to instil.
Adam noted the tutor must be an individual who studied at "the right kinds of schools – similar types of schools as the family plan to send their son to".
"The tutor simply needs to be the appropriate candidate, they'll be doing things they aren't even aware they're doing, simply by nature," he said.
Money No Object
The family informed the expert the successful candidate should ideally also have knowledge of or passion in horse riding, skiing, creative fields and music so as to inspire the child in a diverse set of passions.
Additionally 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 learning an instrument by the time they are about three years old".
In the family's view, guiding their son grow into a "British gentleman" will lead to accomplishment and create opportunities.
"For all the rights and wrongs of that, because it's definitely a social class indicator," he notes.
But, notwithstanding all this tutelage in "Britishness", would the child pick up alleged cultural bias from the globally influenced family he is raised by regardless?
"Absolutely", answered he. "The parents realize this might not succeed, but they've just taken the perspective of, 'why not attempt it and we'll proceed as early as we can', because the expense of it is not relevant," he stated.
Idealistic and Unrealistic
Several in the education sector who express similar doubts.
Peter Cui, head and founder of an educational organization, who also offer individual instructors, wrote that "the journey of adopting dual cultures, or indeed, discovering oneself, is something that must be experienced personally, not manufactured."
Peter wrote that he had moved from China to the United Kingdom at the age of childhood, and had been raised experiencing and embodying both cultures. He went on to study at a prestigious UK institution.
"The idea that a single person can function as a representation of English culture, a person who can possibly transplant the qualities of a UK sophisticate onto a 12-month-old child, seems to me optimistic and unfeasible," he commented.
"Based on my background, engaging a quintessentially British tutor from babyhood will will not automatically produce the outcome they hope for.
"I wasn't provided with that kind of mentor, and nevertheless I have been privileged enough to enjoy numerous of the experiences they hope for their son."
He continued: "The reality is, self-identity should not be forced from the outside; it must be chosen, and it must originate internally."
Buying Britishness
Certainly, UK identity is something Adam believes can be taught – and sold.
"I believe the situation that the international society regards us in this regard is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
