"A household located in north London seeks an extraordinary and skilled instructor to assist their youngest child on his initial journey to turning into an English gentleman."
Upon seeing this advertisement, you might naturally miss the term "initial stages" as simple an expression.
But, it could be the most significant part of this distinctive job advert, as it aims to hire a teacher for a 12-month-old.
Numerous of applications have already been sent in since the anonymous family advertised their request for the £180,000 per year tutor, who has to be "someone very special".
During the past few weeks, the listing has received notice in the media, with many questioning why?
Forward-Thinking Method
Adam Caller, chief executive of Tutors International, which is assisting the family in their hunt, said that despite initial doubt, he viewed the plan "forward-looking", and "innovative".
When he spoke with the family, he noted they understood the atypical aspect of their request, and how immature their son is.
Nevertheless, they clarified that they "preferred not to postpone any longer" to get a tutor, as they had held off until their firstborn was five, and by that point "cultural bias had already taken hold".
But what does the family indicate by "cultural bias"?
It's "everything", he replied. "The manner you eat, the manner you speak".
He stated the older sibling had picked up "extremely delicate, non-verbal cues" from the family, and had adopted their cultural habits. The family explained to the consultant they wished to avoid history to happen again with their younger child.
The strategy: To hire a English tutor, who should speak with RP, to shape the baby from the very start.
Osmotic Learning
"Much of the learning at the start here is somewhat absorbed naturally," stated the expert.
It's via this osmosis that the family are aiming the child will adopt the English characteristics they want to instil.
The consultant said the tutor must be an individual who attended "the right kinds of schools – comparable categories of schools as the family plan to send their son to".
"The tutor must be the right kind of person, they'll be performing things they aren't even aware they're doing, just naturally," he added.
Cost Not Relevant
The family explained to him the successful candidate should ideally also have familiarity of or passion in horse riding, winter sports, creative fields and instrumental training so as to inspire the child in a diverse set of hobbies.
More than that though, he explained the family desired the tutor to register the child on a range of lessons so the child would be "equestrian training and learning an tool by the time they are around three years old".
In the family's view, helping their son become a "English gentleman" will lead to success and provide access.
"Considering the advantages and disadvantages of that, because it's certainly a social class indicator," he notes.
Yet, despite all this guidance in "Britishness", might the child pick up so-called cultural leaning from the multicultural family he resides with anyway?
"Absolutely", answered the CEO. "The parents know this might not succeed, but they've simply adopted the view of, 'why not attempt it and let's go as quickly as we can', because the cost of it is irrelevant," he stated.
Idealistic and Unrealistic
Several in the tutoring industry who express these reservations.
An education leader, chief executive of an educational organization, who also offer individual instructors, stated that "the journey of embracing two identities, or in fact, forming one's identity, is something that must be grown into, not manufactured."
Peter noted that he had moved from China to the United Kingdom at the period of seven, and had been raised knowing and living two backgrounds. He went on to learn at Cambridge University.
"The concept that a single person can function as a embodiment of English culture, an individual who can possibly impart the attributes of a English gentleman upon a 12-month-old child, seems to me naive and unrealistic," he commented.
"From my perspective, employing a quintessentially UK tutor from babyhood will does not instantly produce the goal they want.
"I did not have such a figure, and yet I have been privileged enough to live numerous of the experiences they desire for their son."
He stated: "The fact is, self-identity can not be imposed from the external environment; it must be chosen, and it must come from within."
Acquiring Englishness
Of course, UK identity is something the expert hopes can be instructed – and commercialized.
"I believe the situation that the international society regards us in this respect is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
