"Parents residing in North London seeks an extraordinary and experienced instructor to assist their most junior child on his early path to turning into an English gentleman."
Upon seeing this post, you might easily overlook the wording "initial stages" as just a turn of phrase.
But, it might be the crucial part of this unusual employment listing, as it attempts to recruit a mentor for a 12-month-old.
Many of responses have now been received since the anonymous family advertised their search for the £180k-a-year tutor, who needs to be "someone very special".
In recent few weeks, the post has gained notice across the press, with many wondering why?
Progressive Approach
The CEO, chief executive of Tutors International, which is assisting the family in their quest, explained that in spite of initial skepticism, he viewed the plan "forward-looking", and "innovative".
When he spoke with the family, he mentioned they appreciated the unusual nature of their demand, and how early in age their son is.
Nevertheless, they stated that they "didn't want to wait any longer" to engage a tutor, as they had held off until their elder sibling was five, and by that age "cultural conditioning had already set in".
But what does the family indicate by "cultural bias"?
It's "everything", he responded. "The way you eat, how you speak".
He said the firstborn had adopted "very nuanced, non-verbal cues" from the family, and had taken on their cultural norms. The family informed him they hoped to prevent the same situation to recur with their infant.
The intention: To bring in a English tutor, who needs to speak with RP, to influence the baby right from the beginning.
Subtle Influence
"A lot of the learning at the beginning here is somewhat osmotic," explained the expert.
It's via this natural absorption that the family are hoping the child will adopt the UK customs they aim to cultivate.
The consultant said the tutor needed to be someone who studied at "the right kinds of schools – the same kinds of schools as the family aspire to send their son to".
"The tutor just has to be the suitable individual, they'll be carrying out things they may not realize they're doing, just naturally," he added.
Expense Not a Factor
The family told the expert the selected educator should ideally also have understanding of or passion in horse riding, winter sports, creative fields and instrumental training so as to inspire the child in a broad spectrum of passions.
More than that though, he stated the family desired the tutor to register the child on a range of classes so the child would be "pony-riding and learning an tool by the time they are around three years old".
In the family's minds, assisting their son become a "English gentleman" will result in success and provide access.
"For all the advantages and disadvantages of that, because it's certainly a status symbol," he adds.
But, despite all this instruction in "Britishness", could the child adopt so-called cultural leaning from the globally influenced family he lives with regardless?
"Yes", said the CEO. "The family understand this might not succeed, but they've simply adopted the attitude of, 'why not attempt it and we should start as early as we can', because the cost of it is not relevant," he said.
Overly Optimistic
Several in the tutoring industry who express these concerns.
Another CEO, head and founder of Blue Education, who supplies individual instructors, stated that "the development of adopting dual cultures, or indeed, discovering oneself, is something that must be lived into, not designed."
Peter explained that he had relocated from China to the UK at the period of seven, and had been raised experiencing and practicing two backgrounds. He continued to be educated at the University of Cambridge.
"The concept that an individual can act as a embodiment of Britishness, a person who can somehow transfer the qualities of a UK sophisticate onto a infant child, seems to me idealistic and impractical," he stated.
"In my experience, having a typically English tutor from infancy will not necessarily produce the outcome they desire.
"I never had such a figure, and nevertheless I have been privileged enough to experience numerous of the situations they aspire for their son."
He stated: "The reality is, cultural identity should not be dictated from the external environment; it must be embraced, and it must originate internally."
Buying Britishness
Of course, Britishness is something the CEO believes can be instructed – and commercialized.
"I believe the fact that the global community views us in this light is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
