"A household residing in the northern part of London is looking for an extraordinary and skilled instructor to assist their youngest child on his initial journey to turning into an English gentleman."
When reading this listing, you might easily overlook the wording "first-steps" as simple figurative language.
Yet, it could be the most important part of this unique job advert, as it attempts to hire a tutor for a 12-month-old.
Numerous of responses have now been sent in since the anonymous family posted their call for the £180k-a-year tutor, who must be "an exceptional individual".
In recent few weeks, the post has attracted attention across the news, with several asking why?
Forward-Thinking Method
A tutoring expert, CEO and founder of a global tutoring firm, which is assisting the family in their hunt, stated that in spite of first doubt, he considered the plan "visionary", and "progressive".
When he consulted the family, he mentioned they recognized the unconventional aspect of their requirement, and how early in age their son is.
But, they explained that they "preferred not to postpone any longer" to hire a tutor, as they had waited until their firstborn was five, and by that age "cultural influence had by then taken hold".
But what did the family refer to by "cultural predisposition"?
It's "comprehensive", the expert answered. "The way you eat, the manner you speak".
He said the older sibling had absorbed "very nuanced, body language" from the family, and had assumed their cultural habits. The family told Adam they did not want this pattern to repeat itself with their new baby.
The strategy: To bring in a UK tutor, who should speak with standard English accent, to shape the baby right from the beginning.
Osmotic Learning
"A lot of the education at the beginning here is rather absorbed naturally," said Adam.
It's via this natural absorption that the family are hoping the child will pick up the UK customs they want to cultivate.
He noted the tutor must be somebody who went to "the appropriate educational institutions – similar types of schools as the family plan to send their son to".
"The educator simply needs to be the right kind of person, they'll be doing things they may not realize they're doing, just naturally," he commented.
Money No Object
The family explained to him the chosen tutor should ideally also have familiarity of or interest in horse riding, winter sports, the arts and musical activities so as to shape the child in a diverse set of interests.
More than that though, he said the family wanted the tutor to register the child on a selection of classes so the child would be "horseback riding and picking up an tool by the time they are around three years old".
In the family's minds, guiding their son develop into a "UK sophisticate" will bring about accomplishment and create opportunities.
"Considering the rights and wrongs of that, because it's definitely a social class indicator," he comments.
But, in spite of all this instruction in "UK identity", could the child pick up so-called cultural influence from the globally influenced family he is raised by anyway?
"Absolutely", said the CEO. "The family realize this might not succeed, but they've just taken the perspective of, 'let's give it a go and we'll proceed as soon as we can', because the cost of it is not relevant," he stated.
Idealistic and Unrealistic
Several in the private teaching field who have those doubts.
An education leader, CEO and founder of Blue Education, who provides personal educators, stated that "the journey of adopting dual cultures, or actually, discovering oneself, is something that must be grown into, not designed."
He noted that he had relocated from China to the UK at the period of 7 years old, and had been brought up experiencing and practicing dual heritages. He went on to learn at Cambridge University.
"The idea that one individual can serve as a embodiment of UK identity, an individual who can in some way transfer the characteristics of a English gentleman upon a one-year-old child, seems to me naive and unfeasible," he wrote.
"Based on my background, employing a typically UK tutor from early childhood will not automatically achieve the outcome they hope for.
"I wasn't provided with such a figure, and nevertheless I have been privileged enough to enjoy several of the opportunities they hope for their son."
He added: "The reality is, self-identity can not be forced from the external environment; it must be embraced, and it must be internally driven."
Buying Britishness
Certainly, English culture is something the expert thinks can be taught – and sold.
"I think the fact that the global community views us in this light is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
