"A family located in the northern part of London seeks an exceptional and experienced educator to guide their youngest child on his first steps to turning into an British gentleman."
Looking at this listing, you might naturally overlook the phrase "first-steps" as just an expression.
But, it may be the most significant element of this unique job advert, as it seeks to hire a mentor for a one-year-old.
Many of responses have already been submitted since the anonymous family advertised their call for the £180k-a-year tutor, who must be "an exceptional individual".
During the past few weeks, the advert has gained interest throughout the news, with many asking why?
Progressive Approach
The CEO, CEO and founder of Tutors International, which is helping the family in their hunt, stated that despite first scepticism, he found the concept "visionary", and "progressive".
When he consulted the family, he said they appreciated the atypical aspect of their requirement, and how early in age their son is.
However, they explained that they "were unwilling to delay any longer" to get a tutor, as they had held off until their older child was five, and by that age "cultural conditioning had by then taken hold".
But what did the family refer to by "cultural leaning"?
It's "all-encompassing", he responded. "The manner you eat, the manner you speak".
He stated the firstborn had absorbed "extremely delicate, body language" from the family, and had adopted their cultural norms. The family explained to him they hoped to prevent this pattern to repeat itself with their new baby.
The plan: To hire a UK tutor, who should speak with Received Pronunciation, to influence the baby from the very start.
Osmotic Learning
"Much of the learning at the start here is somewhat osmotic," said the CEO.
It's through this osmosis that the family are aiming the child will acquire the English characteristics they want to cultivate.
The consultant noted the tutor had to be someone who attended "prestigious academies – comparable categories of schools as the family aspire to send their son to".
"The instructor just has to be the suitable individual, they'll be doing things they aren't even aware they're doing, just naturally," he said.
Cost Not Relevant
The family told him the selected educator should ideally also have familiarity of or interest in equestrian activities, winter sports, creative fields and instrumental training so as to shape the child in a wide range of hobbies.
More than that though, he explained the family wanted the tutor to enrol the child on a selection of classes so the child would be "horseback riding and starting an instrument by the time they are around three years old".
In the family's perspective, helping their son become a "British gentleman" will lead to success and create opportunities.
"Taking into account the advantages and disadvantages of that, because it's certainly a social class indicator," he comments.
However, despite all this instruction in "UK identity", could the child adopt alleged cultural bias from the globally influenced family he is raised by regardless?
"Absolutely", replied he. "The family realize this might not succeed, but they've simply adopted the perspective of, 'we should try and we should start as early as we can', because the expense of it is not a concern," he explained.
Impractical
There are some in the education sector who express these doubts.
An education leader, chief executive of an educational organization, who also offer personal educators, commented that "the development of becoming bicultural, or indeed, discovering oneself, is something that must be experienced personally, not engineered."
The expert explained that he had emigrated from Asia to the United Kingdom at the time of seven, and had been raised experiencing and practicing both cultures. He went on to be educated at the University of Cambridge.
"The notion that a single person can act as a living vessel of UK identity, a person who can in some way transplant the qualities of a UK sophisticate onto a infant child, strikes me as naive and impractical," he commented.
"In my experience, employing a typically English tutor from babyhood will will not necessarily produce the outcome they hope for.
"I never had such a tutor, and yet I have been privileged enough to enjoy several of the opportunities they aspire for their son."
He stated: "The truth is, self-identity should not be dictated from the outside; it must be embraced, and it must originate internally."
Buying Britishness
Naturally, Britishness is something Adam hopes can be instructed – and marketed.
"In my view the reality that the international society views us in this respect is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating