"Parents based in the northern part of London seeks an exceptional and qualified educator to guide their youngest child on his initial journey to becoming an British gentleman."
Upon seeing this advertisement, you might readily miss the phrase "initial stages" as mere figurative language.
However, it might be the most significant part of this distinctive employment listing, as it seeks to hire a teacher for a one-year-old.
Hundreds of submissions have since been sent in since the unidentified family posted their call for the highly paid tutor, who has to be "a uniquely qualified person".
During the past few weeks, the listing has received notice across the news, with numerous asking why?
Forward-Thinking Method
Adam Caller, head and founder of an education consultancy, which is assisting the family in their search, explained that despite first skepticism, he viewed the plan "far sighted", and "innovative".
When he spoke with the family, he noted they recognized the atypical character of their requirement, and how early in age their son is.
However, they stated 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 stage "cultural bias had already taken hold".
But what does the family refer to by "cultural leaning"?
It's "everything", Adam replied. "The way you eat, the way you speak".
He said the older sibling had adopted "really subtle, body language" from the family, and had adopted their cultural norms. The family explained to Adam they did not want history to repeat itself with their infant.
The plan: To bring in a UK tutor, who must speak with Received Pronunciation, to guide the baby right from the beginning.
Natural Absorption
"A great deal of the learning at the beginning here is somewhat acquired indirectly," stated the CEO.
It's via this osmosis that the family are aiming the child will adopt the UK customs they want to instil.
The consultant explained the tutor needed to be someone who studied at "the appropriate educational institutions – the same kinds of schools as the family hope to send their son to".
"The tutor simply needs to be the right kind of person, they'll be performing things they may not realize they're doing, simply by nature," he commented.
Expense Not a Factor
The family informed him the successful candidate should preferably also have knowledge of or enthusiasm in equestrian activities, alpine skiing, creative fields and music so as to shape the child in a broad spectrum of hobbies.
Furthermore though, he stated the family wanted the tutor to register the child on a range of classes so the child would be "equestrian training and learning an musical instrument by the time they are about three years old".
In the family's view, assisting their son grow into a "English gentleman" will bring about achievement and create opportunities.
"Considering the rights and wrongs of that, because it's undoubtedly a status symbol," he notes.
However, despite all this guidance in "UK identity", would the child pick up what is termed cultural influence from the globally influenced family he lives with in any case?
"Absolutely", replied he. "The family realize 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 a concern," he explained.
Overly Optimistic
A number of in the private teaching field who express those doubts.
An education leader, head and founder of Blue Education, who also offer individual instructors, wrote that "the journey of embracing two identities, or in fact, forming one's identity, is something that must be experienced personally, not manufactured."
He explained that he had moved from Asia to the UK at the age of childhood, and had been raised experiencing and living two backgrounds. He continued to learn at the University of Cambridge.
"The concept that an individual can serve as a living vessel of UK identity, an individual who can possibly transplant the attributes of a British gentleman upon a one-year-old child, appears idealistic and unrealistic," he wrote.
"Based on my background, engaging a quintessentially British tutor from early childhood will will not necessarily produce the outcome they desire.
"I wasn't provided with such a figure, and yet I have been privileged enough to live numerous of the opportunities they hope for their son."
He continued: "The fact is, self-identity should not be imposed from the outside; it must be selected, and it must come from within."
Buying Britishness
Naturally, English culture is something the expert hopes can be instructed – and sold.
"In my view the reality that the international society regards us in this light is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
