"Parents residing in North London is looking for an exceptional and skilled educator to assist their most junior child on his first steps to growing into an English gentleman."
Upon seeing this advertisement, you might easily miss the wording "first-steps" as just a turn of phrase.
However, it might be the most important part of this unusual job advert, as it aims to find a teacher for a 12-month-old.
Many of responses have now been received since the unidentified family posted their request for the highly paid tutor, who needs to be "a uniquely qualified person".
Over the last few weeks, the advert has gained notice throughout the press, with numerous asking why?
Innovative Idea
Adam Caller, CEO and founder of a global tutoring firm, which is assisting the family in their quest, said that despite first skepticism, he found the concept "far sighted", and "progressive".
When he consulted the family, he noted they understood the atypical nature of their requirement, and how immature their son is.
But, they clarified that they "didn't want to wait any longer" to get a tutor, as they had waited until their firstborn was five, and by that age "cultural conditioning had by then taken hold".
What precisely does the family mean by "cultural bias"?
It's "all-encompassing", the expert responded. "The manner you eat, the way you speak".
He explained the elder child had adopted "very nuanced, unspoken signals" from the family, and had assumed their cultural norms. The family informed the consultant they hoped to prevent this pattern to recur with their new baby.
The intention: To bring in a English tutor, who must speak with Received Pronunciation, to shape the baby from day one.
Osmotic Learning
"A lot of the development at the beginning here is rather acquired indirectly," stated the expert.
It's by means of this osmosis that the family are expecting the child will acquire the English characteristics they want to instil.
The consultant explained the tutor needed to be somebody who studied at "prestigious academies – the same kinds of schools as the family hope to send their son to".
"The tutor must be the right kind of person, they'll be performing things they may not realize they're doing, simply by nature," he said.
Cost Not Relevant
The family informed Adam the chosen tutor should ideally also have familiarity of or interest in equestrian activities, winter sports, artistic pursuits and instrumental training so as to inspire the child in a wide range of hobbies.
Furthermore though, he said the family wanted the tutor to sign up the child on a variety of courses so the child would be "horseback riding and picking up an instrument by the time they are about three years old".
In the family's minds, guiding their son grow into a "British gentleman" will lead to success and open doors.
"Taking into account the pros and cons of that, because it's definitely a status symbol," he comments.
However, despite all this guidance in "Britishness", would the child absorb alleged cultural influence from the international family he is raised by regardless?
"Yes", replied he. "The parents know this may not work, but they've merely embraced the perspective of, 'why not attempt it and we'll proceed as early as we can', because the cost of it is irrelevant," he said.
Overly Optimistic
Several in the tutoring industry who share similar concerns.
Another CEO, head and founder of a tutoring service, who provides private tutors, wrote that "the development of embracing two identities, or in fact, becoming oneself, is something that must be grown into, not manufactured."
Peter noted that he had relocated from the Far East to the Britain at the time of seven, and had been brought up experiencing and embodying two backgrounds. He went on to be educated at a prestigious UK institution.
"The idea that a single person can act as a embodiment of UK identity, a person who can somehow impart the attributes of a UK sophisticate upon a 12-month-old child, strikes me as naive and impractical," he commented.
"From my perspective, having a distinctly UK tutor from early childhood will not automatically produce the outcome they hope for.
"I wasn't provided with such a figure, and yet I have been privileged enough to enjoy numerous of the situations they desire for their son."
He stated: "The reality is, personal identity cannot be forced from the external environment; it must be embraced, and it must come from within."
Purchasing UK Culture
Of course, UK identity is something the CEO hopes can be educated – and sold.
"I believe the reality that the global community regards us in this regard is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
