"A household residing in north London wants to find an remarkable and qualified instructor to assist their most junior child on his first steps to growing into an British gentleman."
Looking at this listing, you might easily miss the phrase "first-steps" as just a turn of phrase.
Yet, it could be the most significant element of this unusual job advert, as it aims to hire a mentor for a infant.
Many of responses have since been sent in since the unnamed family published their call for the £180k-a-year tutor, who has to be "someone very special".
In recent few weeks, the advert has received attention throughout the media, with numerous wondering why?
Forward-Thinking Method
The CEO, CEO and founder of a global tutoring firm, which is helping the family in their hunt, said that despite initial scepticism, he viewed the concept "forward-looking", and "innovative".
When he spoke with the family, he mentioned they appreciated the atypical nature of their demand, and how young their son is.
However, they explained that they "preferred not to postpone any longer" to hire a tutor, as they had waited until their older child was five, and by that point "cultural influence had by then become established".
What precisely does the family refer to by "cultural bias"?
It's "all-encompassing", Adam responded. "How you eat, how you speak".
He explained the older sibling had adopted "really subtle, body language" from the family, and had assumed their cultural norms. The family informed him they hoped to prevent this pattern to happen again with their new baby.
The intention: To engage a English tutor, who should speak with standard English accent, to influence the baby right from the beginning.
Osmotic Learning
"Much of the learning at the start here is rather absorbed naturally," explained the expert.
It's by means of this subtle influence that the family are expecting the child will acquire the UK customs they want to impart.
The consultant noted the tutor needed to be someone who went to "prestigious academies – the same kinds of schools as the family aspire to send their son to".
"The instructor simply needs to be the right kind of person, they'll be doing things they aren't even aware they're doing, just naturally," he said.
Expense Not a Factor
The family explained to Adam the successful candidate should preferably also have familiarity of or passion in riding, winter sports, artistic pursuits and instrumental training so as to influence the child in a broad spectrum of passions.
More than that though, he explained the family hoped the tutor to register the child on a range of classes so the child would be "equestrian training and starting an tool by the time they are about three years old".
In the family's view, helping their son grow into a "English gentleman" will bring about achievement and create opportunities.
"Considering the advantages and disadvantages of that, because it's certainly a class statement," he comments.
However, despite all this instruction in "English culture", might the child absorb so-called cultural influence from the multicultural family he resides with regardless?
"Certainly", said the CEO. "The family understand this could fail, but they've just taken the perspective of, 'we should try and we should start as early as we can', because the price of it is irrelevant," he explained.
Overly Optimistic
There are some in the tutoring industry who share similar concerns.
Peter Cui, CEO and founder of Blue Education, who supplies individual instructors, commented that "the process of adopting dual cultures, or actually, discovering oneself, is something that must be grown into, not manufactured."
He explained that he had moved from the Far East to the Britain at the time of 7 years old, and had been raised understanding and embodying both cultures. He progressed to learn at a prestigious UK institution.
"The concept that a single person can function as a embodiment of Britishness, someone who can somehow transplant the characteristics of a British gentleman upon a 12-month-old child, appears naive and unfeasible," he commented.
"Based on my background, engaging a typically British tutor from early childhood will not automatically achieve the result they hope for.
"I never had that kind of mentor, and however I have been fortunate enough to experience numerous of the experiences they hope for their son."
He stated: "The reality is, self-identity can not be dictated from the outside influences; it must be selected, and it must originate internally."
Buying Britishness
Naturally, Britishness is something the CEO thinks can be educated – and commercialized.
"I think the reality that the international society holds us in this light is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
