"Parents residing in North London is looking for an exceptional and skilled tutor to support their smallest child on his first steps to turning into an English gentleman."
Looking at this post, you might easily skip the term "first-steps" as just a turn of phrase.
But, it could be the most significant aspect of this unusual job advert, as it aims to recruit a mentor for a infant.
Many of applications have now been submitted since the unidentified family posted their request for the £180k-a-year tutor, who has to be "someone very special".
During the past few weeks, the post has received interest across the press, with numerous asking why?
Forward-Thinking Method
The CEO, CEO and founder of an education consultancy, which is helping the family in their search, stated that despite early skepticism, he considered the idea "far sighted", and "advanced".
When he spoke with the family, he noted they recognized the unusual nature of their requirement, and how early in age their son is.
But, they stated that they "preferred not to postpone any longer" to engage a tutor, as they had waited until their firstborn was five, and by that stage "cultural influence had already taken hold".
What exactly did the family refer to by "cultural predisposition"?
It's "all-encompassing", he answered. "The way you eat, the manner you speak".
He said the firstborn had absorbed "really subtle, body language" from the family, and had taken on their cultural habits. The family told him they hoped to prevent the same situation 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 from day one.
Osmotic Learning
"A lot of the learning at the start here is somewhat absorbed naturally," said Adam.
It's by means of this osmosis that the family are hoping the child will acquire the British traits they want to impart.
The consultant noted the tutor needed to be somebody who went to "prestigious academies – comparable categories of schools as the family hope to send their son to".
"The educator just has to be the suitable individual, they'll be performing things they aren't even aware they're doing, effortlessly," he added.
Cost Not Relevant
The family explained to the expert the selected educator should ideally also have understanding of or interest in equestrian activities, alpine skiing, the arts and music so as to inspire the child in a broad spectrum of passions.
More than that though, he stated the family wanted the tutor to register the child on a selection of classes so the child would be "pony-riding and picking up an tool by the time they are approximately three years old".
In the family's perspective, guiding their son develop into a "British gentleman" will bring about achievement and create opportunities.
"Considering the pros and cons of that, because it's certainly a status symbol," he comments.
However, in spite of all this guidance in "Britishness", might the child adopt alleged cultural influence from the multicultural family he is raised by anyway?
"Yes", answered he. "The parents know this could fail, but they've merely embraced the view of, 'why not attempt it and we'll proceed as early as we can', because the expense of it is not a concern," he explained.
Overly Optimistic
There are some in the tutoring industry who express those reservations.
An education leader, chief executive of Blue Education, who supplies private tutors, stated that "the journey of adopting dual cultures, or in fact, becoming oneself, is something that must be experienced personally, not manufactured."
The expert noted that he had emigrated from China to the United Kingdom at the age of 7 years old, and had been raised experiencing and practicing both cultures. He went on to study at Cambridge University.
"The concept that an individual can serve as a representation of English culture, someone who can somehow transplant the characteristics of a UK sophisticate to a one-year-old child, strikes me as optimistic and impractical," he stated.
"In my experience, engaging a distinctly UK tutor from babyhood will does not necessarily create the goal they hope for.
"I wasn't provided with such a tutor, and nevertheless I have been privileged enough to experience several of the experiences they desire for their son."
He stated: "The truth is, cultural identity can not be forced 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 taught – and commercialized.
"I think the reality that the international society holds us in this light is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
