"Parents based in North London is looking for an exceptional and skilled educator to guide their youngest child on his first steps to growing into an British gentleman."
When reading this post, you might naturally skip the phrase "first-steps" as mere figurative language.
However, it may be the most significant element of this unusual job advert, as it attempts to find a mentor for a infant.
Many of applications have now been received since the unidentified family published their search for the highly paid tutor, who must be "a uniquely qualified person".
In recent few weeks, the listing has gained interest across the media, with numerous asking why?
Progressive Approach
The CEO, chief executive of Tutors International, which is assisting the family in their quest, explained that despite first scepticism, he considered the idea "far sighted", and "advanced".
When he met the family, he noted they recognized the atypical nature of their requirement, and how immature their son is.
However, they clarified that they "preferred not to postpone any longer" to hire a tutor, as they had postponed until their elder sibling was five, and by that age "cultural influence had by then taken hold".
What exactly did the family indicate by "cultural predisposition"?
It's "all-encompassing", the expert responded. "The manner you eat, how you speak".
He said the elder child had absorbed "very nuanced, body language" from the family, and had adopted their cultural norms. The family explained to the consultant they wished to avoid history to repeat itself with their new baby.
The plan: To engage a UK tutor, who must speak with standard English accent, to shape the baby right from the beginning.
Natural Absorption
"A lot of the learning at the start here is kind of absorbed naturally," said the CEO.
It's through this natural absorption that the family are hoping the child will adopt the UK customs they wish to impart.
The consultant said the tutor had to be an individual who attended "prestigious academies – comparable categories of schools as the family hope to send their son to".
"The educator just has to be the suitable individual, they'll be performing things they don't even know they're doing, simply by nature," he added.
Expense Not a Factor
The family told him the selected educator should preferably also have understanding of or interest in riding, alpine skiing, the arts and musical activities so as to inspire the child in a broad spectrum of passions.
Furthermore though, he explained the family desired the tutor to register the child on a variety of lessons so the child would be "equestrian training and picking up an instrument by the time they are about three years old".
In the family's perspective, guiding their son grow into a "British gentleman" will bring about success and open doors.
"For all the pros and cons of that, because it's certainly a status symbol," he comments.
But, despite all this instruction in "English culture", would the child pick up alleged cultural leaning from the international family he resides with anyway?
"Absolutely", replied the CEO. "The family know this might not succeed, but they've merely embraced the perspective of, 'we should try and we'll proceed as early as we can', because the expense of it is not a concern," he explained.
Idealistic and Unrealistic
A number of in the education sector who share these doubts.
Peter Cui, chief executive of Blue Education, who also offer personal educators, stated that "the journey of becoming bicultural, or in fact, forming one's identity, is something that must be experienced personally, not manufactured."
Peter wrote that he had moved from China to the United Kingdom at the period of seven, and had been brought up experiencing and embodying dual heritages. He continued to study at Cambridge University.
"The idea that a single person can function as a living vessel of UK identity, an individual who can in some way transfer the qualities of a British gentleman onto a one-year-old child, strikes me as idealistic and unfeasible," he commented.
"From my perspective, having a quintessentially UK tutor from babyhood will will not instantly create the outcome they hope for.
"I wasn't provided with such a figure, and yet I have been lucky enough to enjoy several of the opportunities they aspire for their son."
He added: "The fact is, self-identity should not be imposed from the external environment; it must be selected, and it must come from within."
Acquiring Englishness
Naturally, English culture is something the expert believes can be instructed – and marketed.
"In my view the reality that the global community holds us in this respect is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
