"A household located in north London is looking for an exceptional and qualified tutor to support their most junior child on his first steps to turning into an English gentleman."
Upon seeing this advertisement, you might readily overlook the phrase "first-steps" as just an expression.
However, it might be the crucial part of this unique job advert, as it seeks to find a mentor for a one-year-old.
Many of submissions have since been sent in since the unnamed family posted their search for the £180k-a-year tutor, who needs to be "someone very special".
In recent few weeks, the listing has attracted notice in the media, with many wondering why?
Forward-Thinking Method
Adam Caller, head and founder of Tutors International, which is helping the family in their search, stated that despite initial skepticism, he viewed the idea "visionary", and "progressive".
When he spoke with the family, he mentioned they recognized the unconventional nature of their demand, and how young their son is.
But, they clarified that they "were unwilling to delay any longer" to hire a tutor, as they had postponed until their firstborn was five, and by that point "cultural conditioning had already set in".
But what did the family mean by "cultural leaning"?
It's "comprehensive", Adam replied. "The way you eat, how you speak".
He said the firstborn had adopted "very nuanced, unspoken signals" from the family, and had adopted their cultural habits. The family explained to Adam they hoped to prevent history to happen again with their younger child.
The strategy: To engage a British tutor, who should speak with Received Pronunciation, to shape the baby from the very start.
Osmotic Learning
"Much of the education at the beginning here is kind of absorbed naturally," stated Adam.
It's via this osmosis that the family are expecting the child will pick up the UK customs they aim to instil.
The consultant noted the tutor had to be somebody who studied at "the right kinds of schools – similar types of schools as the family aspire to send their son to".
"The instructor just has to be the suitable individual, they'll be performing things they don't even know they're doing, effortlessly," he said.
Money No Object
The family told Adam the chosen tutor should ideally also have knowledge of or enthusiasm in horse riding, winter sports, creative fields and music so as to inspire the child in a broad spectrum of interests.
Additionally though, he explained the family wanted the tutor to enrol the child on a range of lessons so the child would be "equestrian training and starting an tool by the time they are approximately three years old".
In the family's minds, assisting their son become a "British gentleman" will bring about accomplishment and open doors.
"Taking into account the advantages and disadvantages of that, because it's undoubtedly a social class indicator," he notes.
But, despite all this guidance in "Britishness", could the child adopt what is termed cultural leaning from the globally influenced family he resides with in any case?
"Absolutely", replied Adam. "The parents know this may not work, but they've simply adopted the view of, 'we should try and we should start as early as we can', because the price of it is not relevant," he said.
Idealistic and Unrealistic
There are some in the private teaching field who express those doubts.
Peter Cui, CEO and founder of an educational organization, who also offer individual instructors, commented that "the development of adopting dual cultures, or actually, forming one's identity, is something that must be experienced personally, not designed."
The expert explained that he had relocated from the Far East to the United Kingdom at the age of childhood, and had been brought up knowing and practicing dual heritages. He continued to learn at the University of Cambridge.
"The idea that one individual can serve as a representation of UK identity, a person who can in some way transplant the attributes of a UK sophisticate to a 12-month-old child, appears naive and unfeasible," he commented.
"From my perspective, having a distinctly British tutor from infancy will will not necessarily produce the result they hope for.
"I wasn't provided with such a tutor, and yet I have been lucky enough to experience several of the situations they aspire for their son."
He added: "The reality is, personal identity should not be dictated from the external environment; it must be embraced, and it must originate internally."
Buying Britishness
Of course, UK identity is something the expert hopes can be educated – and commercialized.
"I think the situation that the international society regards us in this respect is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
