"A family located in north London is looking for an exceptional and experienced instructor to support their youngest child on his first steps to becoming an British gentleman."
Upon seeing this advertisement, you might naturally miss the wording "first-steps" as simple a turn of phrase.
However, it may be the most important element of this distinctive employment listing, as it seeks to hire a teacher for a infant.
Hundreds of applications have already been sent in since the anonymous family posted their request for the £180k-a-year tutor, who needs to be "someone very special".
Over the last few weeks, the advert has attracted notice across the news, with many questioning why?
Progressive Approach
Adam Caller, head and founder of a global tutoring firm, which is helping the family in their quest, said that in spite of first skepticism, he found the plan "forward-looking", and "advanced".
When he consulted the family, he said they understood the unconventional character of their demand, and how early in age their son is.
However, they stated that they "were unwilling to delay any longer" to hire a tutor, as they had held off until their firstborn was five, and by that stage "cultural bias had by then taken hold".
What exactly does the family indicate by "cultural bias"?
It's "everything", he replied. "How you eat, how you speak".
He explained the older sibling had adopted "really subtle, unspoken signals" from the family, and had adopted their cultural habits. The family explained to the consultant they hoped to prevent history to repeat itself with their infant.
The strategy: To hire a British tutor, who must speak with standard English accent, to guide the baby right from the beginning.
Osmotic Learning
"A lot of the education at the start here is somewhat osmotic," said Adam.
It's by means of this subtle influence that the family are expecting the child will adopt the English characteristics they wish to cultivate.
The consultant explained the tutor must be someone who attended "the right kinds of schools – comparable categories of schools as the family hope to send their son to".
"The educator must be the right kind of person, they'll be doing things they don't even know they're doing, simply by nature," he added.
Cost Not Relevant
The family explained to the expert the selected educator should preferably also have familiarity of or passion in horse riding, winter sports, the arts and musical activities so as to influence the child in a diverse set of hobbies.
Furthermore though, he stated the family wanted the tutor to enrol the child on a range of lessons so the child would be "pony-riding and starting an instrument by the time they are approximately three years old".
In the family's view, guiding their son develop into a "English gentleman" will lead to accomplishment and open doors.
"Considering the rights and wrongs of that, because it's definitely a social class indicator," he comments.
Yet, in spite of all this instruction in "Britishness", could the child adopt what is termed cultural leaning from the globally influenced family he is raised by anyway?
"Certainly", answered Adam. "The parents realize this could fail, but they've just taken the perspective of, 'let's give it a go and we should start as early as we can', because the cost of it is irrelevant," he explained.
Idealistic and Unrealistic
Several in the tutoring industry who have these concerns.
An education leader, CEO and founder of Blue Education, who also offer personal educators, stated that "the journey of adopting dual cultures, or actually, becoming oneself, is something that must be grown into, not designed."
He explained that he had relocated from China to the United Kingdom at the period of childhood, and had been educated experiencing and living two backgrounds. He went on to learn at Cambridge University.
"The notion that a single person can function as a living vessel of UK identity, someone who can possibly transfer the qualities of a UK sophisticate onto a infant child, strikes me as optimistic and unrealistic," he commented.
"Based on my background, having a typically UK tutor from babyhood will will not necessarily produce the goal they want.
"I wasn't provided with such a figure, and however I have been privileged enough to live many of the experiences they desire for their son."
He continued: "The fact is, self-identity cannot be imposed from the external environment; it must be selected, and it must come from within."
Buying Britishness
Naturally, Britishness is something Adam believes can be instructed – and sold.
"In my view the fact that the global community holds us in this light is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
