"A household residing in the northern part of London seeks an exceptional and skilled tutor to support their youngest child on his first steps to turning into an British gentleman."
When reading this post, you might easily miss the phrase "beginning" as mere figurative language.
However, it might be the crucial element of this distinctive job advert, as it attempts to hire a mentor for a 12-month-old.
Hundreds of responses have since been received since the anonymous family advertised their call for the £180,000 per year tutor, who needs to be "an exceptional individual".
In recent few weeks, the post has attracted notice throughout the press, with numerous asking why?
Progressive Approach
A tutoring expert, CEO and founder of an education consultancy, which is supporting the family in their hunt, explained that despite first scepticism, he viewed the idea "forward-looking", and "advanced".
When he consulted the family, he mentioned they appreciated the unconventional character of their demand, and how young their son is.
But, they explained that they "were unwilling to delay any longer" to hire a tutor, as they had held off until their elder sibling was five, and by that stage "cultural bias had already set in".
What precisely did the family indicate by "cultural predisposition"?
It's "comprehensive", he answered. "The way you eat, how you speak".
He explained the elder child had adopted "really subtle, body language" from the family, and had assumed their cultural habits. The family informed the consultant they wished to avoid the same situation to recur with their infant.
The plan: To bring in a UK tutor, who must speak with Received Pronunciation, to shape the baby from day one.
Natural Absorption
"A lot of the education at the beginning here is somewhat osmotic," explained the CEO.
It's through this osmosis that the family are aiming the child will pick up the UK customs they wish to cultivate.
The consultant noted the tutor needed to be somebody who went to "the right kinds of schools – comparable categories of schools as the family plan to send their son to".
"The educator must be the appropriate candidate, they'll be performing things they may not realize they're doing, simply by nature," he commented.
Cost Not Relevant
The family told him the chosen tutor should preferably also have knowledge of or interest in horse riding, alpine skiing, the arts and music so as to influence the child in a diverse set of passions.
More than that though, he said the family desired the tutor to sign up the child on a range of lessons so the child would be "pony-riding and learning an tool by the time they are about three years old".
In the family's minds, assisting their son become a "British gentleman" will bring about achievement and create opportunities.
"Taking into account the pros and cons of that, because it's undoubtedly a class statement," he comments.
However, in spite of all this instruction in "Britishness", could the child absorb alleged cultural influence from the multicultural family he resides with in any case?
"Absolutely", replied the CEO. "The parents realize this could fail, but they've just taken the perspective of, 'let's give it a go and let's go as soon as we can', because the cost of it is irrelevant," he explained.
Idealistic and Unrealistic
There are some in the education sector who share those concerns.
Another CEO, head and founder of Blue Education, who provides personal educators, commented that "the journey of embracing two identities, or indeed, discovering oneself, is something that must be experienced personally, not manufactured."
He wrote that he had emigrated from Asia to the UK at the period of seven, and had been brought up knowing and practicing both cultures. He went on to learn at a prestigious UK institution.
"The notion that one individual can function as a embodiment of English culture, an individual who can possibly transfer the qualities of a British gentleman onto a 12-month-old child, strikes me as idealistic and impractical," he commented.
"Based on my background, employing a typically English tutor from infancy will not automatically achieve the goal they desire.
"I did not have that kind of mentor, and nevertheless I have been privileged enough to enjoy numerous of the experiences they aspire for their son."
He continued: "The fact is, personal identity can not be imposed from the outside influences; it must be chosen, and it must originate internally."
Purchasing UK Culture
Of course, English culture is something the expert believes can be taught – and sold.
"I think the situation that the global community holds us in this light is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
