"A family residing in north London seeks an extraordinary and experienced educator to support their most junior child on his first steps to becoming an British gentleman."
Upon seeing this advertisement, you might naturally skip the phrase "first-steps" as just an expression.
However, it may be the most important element of this unique job advert, as it seeks to recruit a mentor for a one-year-old.
Numerous of applications have already been received since the unidentified family posted their request for the £180,000 per year tutor, who has to be "an exceptional individual".
During the past few weeks, the advert has attracted attention across the news, with many wondering why?
Forward-Thinking Method
The CEO, head and founder of Tutors International, which is assisting the family in their quest, explained that despite initial scepticism, he viewed the plan "visionary", and "progressive".
When he spoke with the family, he noted they understood the unconventional aspect of their demand, and how young their son is.
Nevertheless, they stated 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 age "cultural bias had by then taken hold".
But what does the family indicate by "cultural bias"?
It's "comprehensive", Adam replied. "The manner you eat, the manner you speak".
He said the older sibling had picked up "very nuanced, unspoken signals" from the family, and had taken on their cultural norms. The family informed him they did not want the same situation to recur with their infant.
The plan: To engage a British tutor, who must speak with standard English accent, to influence the baby from day one.
Subtle Influence
"A great deal of the development at the beginning here is somewhat osmotic," explained the CEO.
It's through this osmosis that the family are hoping the child will adopt the UK customs they aim to impart.
The consultant said the tutor must be an individual who went to "prestigious academies – comparable categories of schools as the family plan to send their son to".
"The instructor simply needs to be the appropriate candidate, they'll be carrying out things they don't even know they're doing, just naturally," he commented.
Expense Not a Factor
The family explained to the expert the chosen tutor should ideally also have familiarity of or interest in equestrian activities, alpine skiing, the arts and musical activities so as to inspire the child in a diverse set of hobbies.
More than that though, he stated the family desired the tutor to enrol the child on a variety of courses so the child would be "pony-riding and starting an musical instrument by the time they are about three years old".
In the family's minds, assisting their son become a "UK sophisticate" will result in achievement and create opportunities.
"Taking into account the rights and wrongs of that, because it's undoubtedly a status symbol," he notes.
Yet, despite all this instruction in "English culture", might the child absorb what is termed cultural leaning from the international family he resides with in any case?
"Absolutely", replied he. "The family realize this could fail, but they've merely embraced the attitude of, 'let's give it a go and we'll proceed as quickly as we can', because the cost of it is irrelevant," he stated.
Impractical
There are some in the tutoring industry who share those concerns.
Peter Cui, CEO and founder of a tutoring service, who also offer personal educators, wrote that "the development of adopting dual cultures, or in fact, becoming oneself, is something that must be experienced personally, not engineered."
He noted that he had relocated from China to the Britain at the time of childhood, and had been brought up knowing and embodying dual heritages. He progressed to learn at the University of Cambridge.
"The notion that a single person can act as a living vessel of Britishness, someone who can somehow transfer the qualities of a UK sophisticate onto a 12-month-old child, strikes me as optimistic and unfeasible," he commented.
"In my experience, having a quintessentially British tutor from early childhood will not necessarily produce the result they hope for.
"I wasn't provided with such a tutor, and yet I have been lucky enough to enjoy several of the experiences they desire for their son."
He stated: "The truth is, self-identity can not be imposed from the outside; it must be embraced, and it must come from within."
Acquiring Englishness
Certainly, English culture is something the expert hopes can be instructed – and commercialized.
"I think the reality that the global community regards us in this respect is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
