"A household located in North London is looking for an extraordinary and qualified educator to support their most junior child on his first steps to turning into an British gentleman."
Upon seeing this advertisement, you might readily miss the phrase "first-steps" as mere an expression.
Yet, it could be the crucial aspect of this unique position posting, as it aims to recruit a tutor for a 12-month-old.
Hundreds of submissions have already been received since the unnamed family advertised their request for the £180k-a-year tutor, who needs to be "someone very special".
During the past few weeks, the advert has gained interest throughout the media, with numerous wondering why?
Innovative Idea
A tutoring expert, CEO and founder of a global tutoring firm, which is assisting the family in their hunt, said that notwithstanding early skepticism, he found the concept "far sighted", and "progressive".
When he spoke with the family, he mentioned they recognized the unusual aspect of their demand, and how young their son is.
However, they stated that they "preferred not to postpone 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 become established".
But what did the family refer to by "cultural predisposition"?
It's "all-encompassing", he replied. "The manner you eat, the manner you speak".
He said the elder child had absorbed "very nuanced, unspoken signals" from the family, and had taken on their cultural norms. The family informed the consultant they hoped to prevent the same situation to happen again with their new baby.
The strategy: To hire a British tutor, who needs to speak with Received Pronunciation, to shape the baby from the very start.
Natural Absorption
"Much of the learning at the start here is kind of acquired indirectly," stated Adam.
It's by means of this natural absorption that the family are hoping the child will adopt the British traits they wish to instil.
The consultant noted the tutor must be somebody who went to "prestigious academies – comparable categories of schools as the family plan to send their son to".
"The educator just has to be the appropriate candidate, they'll be carrying out things they don't even know they're doing, simply by nature," he commented.
Expense Not a Factor
The family explained to him the successful candidate should ideally also have familiarity of or enthusiasm in equestrian activities, alpine skiing, creative fields and music so as to inspire the child in a wide range of passions.
More than that though, he explained the family desired the tutor to enrol the child on a variety of lessons so the child would be "pony-riding and picking up an tool by the time they are about three years old".
In the family's perspective, helping their son develop into a "English gentleman" will bring about accomplishment and provide access.
"Considering the advantages and disadvantages of that, because it's definitely a status symbol," he adds.
Yet, despite all this instruction in "Britishness", might the child adopt alleged cultural bias from the globally influenced family he resides with in any case?
"Yes", answered Adam. "They know this could fail, but they've simply adopted the attitude of, 'why not attempt it and we'll proceed as quickly as we can', because the cost of it is not a concern," he stated.
Overly Optimistic
Several in the tutoring industry who share similar reservations.
Peter Cui, head and founder of a tutoring service, who also offer individual instructors, stated that "the development of adopting dual cultures, or actually, discovering oneself, is something that must be lived into, not designed."
He noted that he had emigrated from China to the United Kingdom at the age of seven, and had been educated knowing and practicing two backgrounds. He progressed to study at Cambridge University.
"The concept that one individual can function as a representation of UK identity, a person who can somehow transplant the qualities of a UK sophisticate to a infant child, seems to me naive and unfeasible," he commented.
"In my experience, employing a typically UK tutor from infancy will not necessarily create the goal they want.
"I did not have such a figure, and yet I have been privileged enough to experience numerous of the opportunities they desire for their son."
He stated: "The fact is, self-identity should not be imposed from the outside; it must be selected, and it must be internally driven."
Purchasing UK Culture
Certainly, UK identity is something the expert believes can be taught – and commercialized.
"I believe the situation that the world holds us in this respect is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
