"A household located in the northern part of London is looking for an exceptional and experienced instructor to guide their most junior child on his initial journey to growing into an British gentleman."
Upon seeing this advertisement, you might readily miss the phrase "beginning" as simple figurative language.
Yet, it could be the most important aspect of this unusual employment listing, as it attempts to find a mentor for a one-year-old.
Hundreds of applications have since been sent in since the anonymous family published their search for the £180k-a-year tutor, who must be "a uniquely qualified person".
In recent few weeks, the listing has gained interest in the news, with several questioning why?
Forward-Thinking Method
Adam Caller, head and founder of a global tutoring firm, which is supporting the family in their hunt, stated that despite first scepticism, he viewed the plan "visionary", and "innovative".
When he consulted the family, he mentioned they understood the atypical nature of their requirement, and how early in age their son is.
Nevertheless, they explained that they "didn't want to wait any longer" to hire a tutor, as they had held off until their firstborn was five, and by that point "cultural bias had by then set in".
What precisely did the family indicate by "cultural predisposition"?
It's "comprehensive", he replied. "The manner you eat, the way you speak".
He stated the elder child had absorbed "very nuanced, non-verbal cues" from the family, and had taken on their cultural norms. The family explained to him they hoped to prevent this pattern to recur with their infant.
The intention: To bring in a British tutor, who must speak with Received Pronunciation, to influence the baby from day one.
Osmotic Learning
"Much of the development at the start here is kind of osmotic," stated the CEO.
It's via this natural absorption that the family are aiming the child will acquire the UK customs they aim to cultivate.
Adam said the tutor had to be someone who went to "the appropriate educational institutions – the same kinds of schools as the family plan to send their son to".
"The educator just has to be the appropriate candidate, they'll be performing things they may not realize they're doing, effortlessly," he commented.
Expense Not a Factor
The family informed Adam the chosen tutor should ideally also have understanding of or interest in equestrian activities, skiing, creative fields and music so as to influence the child in a diverse set of passions.
Additionally though, he stated the family wanted the tutor to register the child on a range of lessons so the child would be "equestrian training and learning an instrument by the time they are around three years old".
In the family's minds, assisting their son develop into a "British gentleman" will bring about success and create opportunities.
"For all the rights and wrongs of that, because it's definitely a status symbol," he adds.
Yet, despite all this instruction in "Britishness", might the child adopt so-called cultural bias from the multicultural family he lives with in any case?
"Certainly", said he. "The family understand this might not succeed, but they've just taken the attitude of, 'let's give it a go and we'll proceed as early as we can', because the expense of it is not a concern," he explained.
Overly Optimistic
Several in the private teaching field who express similar concerns.
Peter Cui, head and founder of an educational organization, who provides personal educators, stated that "the journey of embracing two identities, or actually, becoming oneself, is something that must be lived into, not engineered."
The expert wrote that he had moved from Asia to the United Kingdom at the age of childhood, and had been educated understanding and embodying dual heritages. He progressed to learn at a prestigious UK institution.
"The notion that an individual can act as a representation of English culture, an individual who can somehow transplant the characteristics of a UK sophisticate upon a infant child, seems to me optimistic and unrealistic," he stated.
"From my perspective, employing a typically English tutor from infancy will not instantly achieve the result they hope for.
"I did not have such a figure, and nevertheless I have been lucky enough to experience many of the experiences they hope for their son."
He added: "The truth is, personal identity should not be forced from the external environment; it must be selected, and it must come from within."
Purchasing UK Culture
Of course, English culture is something Adam thinks can be educated – and marketed.
"In my view the situation that the international society views us in this respect is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
