"A family based in North London seeks an remarkable and skilled tutor to guide their youngest child on his initial journey to turning into an English gentleman."
When reading this listing, you might easily skip the term "initial stages" as mere a turn of phrase.
Yet, it may be the crucial aspect of this distinctive job advert, as it seeks to recruit a teacher for a 12-month-old.
Many of responses have since been received since the unidentified family advertised their call for the £180,000 per year tutor, who has to be "an exceptional individual".
During the past few weeks, the post has gained notice across the press, with numerous asking why?
Progressive Approach
Adam Caller, chief executive of a global tutoring firm, which is assisting the family in their quest, stated that notwithstanding first skepticism, he found the idea "far sighted", and "innovative".
When he consulted the family, he said they recognized the unconventional aspect of their demand, and how immature their son is.
But, they stated that they "didn't want to wait any longer" to engage a tutor, as they had postponed until their firstborn was five, and by that stage "cultural influence had already become established".
What precisely did the family refer to by "cultural predisposition"?
It's "everything", Adam answered. "The manner you eat, how you speak".
He explained the elder child had picked up "very nuanced, non-verbal cues" from the family, and had assumed their cultural ways. The family informed Adam they did not want this pattern to repeat itself with their younger child.
The plan: To bring in a UK tutor, who should speak with RP, to guide the baby from day one.
Subtle Influence
"A great deal of the education at the beginning here is somewhat osmotic," said Adam.
It's through this osmosis that the family are expecting the child will pick up the UK customs they aim to impart.
Adam explained the tutor must be somebody who studied at "prestigious academies – the same kinds of schools as the family hope to send their son to".
"The educator must be the appropriate candidate, they'll be doing things they don't even know they're doing, effortlessly," he commented.
Expense Not a Factor
The family informed him the selected educator should preferably also have knowledge of or interest in horse riding, winter sports, the arts and music so as to inspire the child in a wide range of passions.
More than that though, he explained 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 tool by the time they are approximately three years old".
In the family's perspective, helping their son become a "English gentleman" will result in accomplishment and open doors.
"For all the pros and cons of that, because it's undoubtedly a social class indicator," he adds.
Yet, despite all this instruction in "Britishness", might the child absorb so-called cultural influence from the multicultural family he resides with anyway?
"Absolutely", said he. "The family know this might not succeed, but they've merely embraced the view of, 'why not attempt it and let's go as quickly as we can', because the expense of it is not a concern," he stated.
Idealistic and Unrealistic
There are some in the tutoring industry who share those doubts.
Peter Cui, chief executive of Blue Education, who provides private tutors, wrote that "the journey of adopting dual cultures, or indeed, becoming oneself, is something that must be experienced personally, not engineered."
He wrote that he had moved from Asia to the United Kingdom at the period of seven, and had been brought up experiencing and practicing dual heritages. He went on to study at Cambridge University.
"The notion that a single person can function as a living vessel of English culture, someone who can possibly impart the qualities of a British gentleman upon a infant child, strikes me as idealistic and unrealistic," he wrote.
"In my experience, having a typically UK tutor from babyhood will will not automatically create the outcome they hope for.
"I never had such a figure, and yet I have been lucky enough to live many of the experiences they aspire for their son."
He stated: "The fact is, personal identity cannot be forced from the outside influences; it must be embraced, and it must be internally driven."
Buying Britishness
Certainly, Britishness is something Adam hopes can be educated – and marketed.
"I think the reality that the global community holds us in this respect is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
