"A family located in north London is looking for an remarkable and qualified educator to assist their smallest child on his first steps to growing into an British gentleman."
Looking at this advertisement, you might easily skip the phrase "first-steps" as simple an expression.
However, it may be the most important element of this distinctive job advert, as it seeks to find a tutor for a infant.
Hundreds of submissions have now been submitted since the unidentified family published their search for the £180k-a-year tutor, who must be "a uniquely qualified person".
In recent few weeks, the post has received attention throughout the press, with numerous asking why?
Innovative Idea
Adam Caller, CEO and founder of a global tutoring firm, which is supporting the family in their hunt, stated that despite first skepticism, he viewed the idea "far sighted", and "progressive".
When he spoke with the family, he said they appreciated the atypical nature of their demand, and how young their son is.
Nevertheless, they stated that they "were unwilling to delay any longer" to get a tutor, as they had postponed until their older child was five, and by that point "cultural influence had already taken hold".
What exactly does the family refer to by "cultural leaning"?
It's "everything", Adam responded. "The way you eat, how you speak".
He said the elder child had adopted "very nuanced, unspoken signals" from the family, and had taken on their cultural norms. The family explained to the consultant they did not want history to recur with their new baby.
The strategy: To hire a UK tutor, who needs to speak with Received Pronunciation, to guide the baby from day one.
Subtle Influence
"Much of the learning at the beginning here is kind of absorbed naturally," said the CEO.
It's via this subtle influence that the family are aiming the child will adopt the UK customs they wish to instil.
The consultant explained the tutor had to be somebody who attended "the right kinds of schools – comparable categories of schools as the family hope to send their son to".
"The instructor just has to be the suitable individual, they'll be carrying out things they aren't even aware they're doing, effortlessly," he said.
Expense Not a Factor
The family informed him the successful candidate should preferably also have understanding of or enthusiasm in riding, winter sports, the arts and instrumental training so as to influence the child in a diverse set of passions.
Additionally though, he stated the family hoped the tutor to enrol the child on a range of courses so the child would be "pony-riding and learning an tool by the time they are around three years old".
In the family's perspective, helping their son develop into a "English gentleman" will result in success and open doors.
"Considering the pros and cons of that, because it's certainly a status symbol," he adds.
Yet, despite all this guidance in "English culture", might the child pick up so-called cultural bias from the multicultural family he is raised by regardless?
"Yes", said he. "They know this might not succeed, but they've just taken the view of, 'we should try and we'll proceed as soon as we can', because the cost of it is not relevant," he said.
Idealistic and Unrealistic
There are some in the private teaching field who express similar reservations.
Another CEO, head and founder of an educational organization, who provides personal educators, wrote that "the process of becoming bicultural, or in fact, discovering oneself, is something that must be lived into, not manufactured."
Peter noted that he had relocated from the Far East to the United Kingdom at the age of childhood, and had been raised knowing and embodying dual heritages. He continued to learn at Cambridge University.
"The idea that one individual can act as a embodiment of UK identity, someone who can somehow transplant the characteristics of a UK sophisticate to a one-year-old child, strikes me as optimistic and unfeasible," he commented.
"From my perspective, employing a distinctly British tutor from babyhood will does not instantly create the goal they hope for.
"I never had such a figure, and nevertheless I have been privileged enough to experience numerous of the experiences they hope for their son."
He stated: "The reality is, self-identity cannot be imposed from the outside influences; it must be chosen, and it must come from within."
Acquiring Englishness
Of course, UK identity is something Adam believes can be taught – and commercialized.
"I believe the fact that the global community regards us in this light is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
