"A family located in the northern part of London is looking for an extraordinary and qualified tutor to support their youngest child on his early path to turning into an English gentleman."
When reading this advertisement, you might naturally overlook the wording "initial stages" as just figurative language.
But, it might be the crucial aspect of this unusual position posting, as it attempts to hire a teacher for a infant.
Numerous of submissions have since been sent in since the unnamed family posted their request for the £180,000 per year tutor, who needs to be "a uniquely qualified person".
During the past few weeks, the listing has gained interest in the news, with numerous questioning why?
Forward-Thinking Method
Adam Caller, CEO and founder of Tutors International, which is assisting the family in their quest, stated that in spite of early skepticism, he viewed the plan "far sighted", and "innovative".
When he spoke with the family, he noted they recognized the atypical character of their demand, and how young their son is.
Nevertheless, they clarified that they "preferred not to postpone any longer" to engage a tutor, as they had postponed until their elder sibling was five, and by that age "cultural influence had by then taken hold".
But what did the family refer to by "cultural leaning"?
It's "all-encompassing", Adam replied. "How you eat, the manner you speak".
He said the older sibling had adopted "really subtle, non-verbal cues" from the family, and had adopted their cultural norms. The family explained to him they did not want history to happen again with their younger child.
The plan: To bring in a UK tutor, who needs to speak with Received Pronunciation, to shape the baby right from the beginning.
Natural Absorption
"A great deal of the education at the beginning here is kind of osmotic," explained the expert.
It's via this subtle influence that the family are aiming the child will adopt the English characteristics they wish to instil.
The consultant said the tutor needed to be someone who went to "prestigious academies – the same kinds of schools as the family aspire to send their son to".
"The tutor simply needs to be the right kind of person, they'll be performing things they aren't even aware they're doing, just naturally," he commented.
Expense Not a Factor
The family informed Adam the successful candidate should preferably also have familiarity of or passion in equestrian activities, winter sports, creative fields and instrumental training so as to shape the child in a diverse set of interests.
More than that though, he explained the family wanted the tutor to register the child on a selection of lessons so the child would be "equestrian training and picking up an tool by the time they are around three years old".
In the family's perspective, helping their son develop into a "British gentleman" will bring about success and open doors.
"For all the advantages and disadvantages of that, because it's certainly a social class indicator," he adds.
But, despite all this instruction in "UK identity", could the child adopt so-called cultural influence from the international family he is raised by anyway?
"Yes", said the CEO. "They know this may not work, but they've simply adopted the attitude of, 'let's give it a go and let's go as early as we can', because the expense of it is not relevant," he said.
Overly Optimistic
There are some in the tutoring industry who have these doubts.
Peter Cui, chief executive of Blue Education, who also offer private tutors, commented that "the journey of becoming bicultural, or indeed, discovering oneself, is something that must be lived into, not designed."
He wrote that he had emigrated from Asia to the United Kingdom at the age of seven, and had been brought up knowing and embodying two backgrounds. He continued to study at Cambridge University.
"The idea that a single person can act as a embodiment of English culture, an individual who can somehow transplant the qualities of a UK sophisticate onto a one-year-old child, appears idealistic and impractical," he stated.
"From my perspective, engaging a quintessentially English tutor from infancy will will not automatically create the result they desire.
"I did not have such a tutor, and however I have been privileged enough to experience many of the experiences they desire for their son."
He stated: "The reality is, self-identity cannot be forced from the outside influences; it must be chosen, and it must originate internally."
Buying Britishness
Of course, English culture is something the expert thinks can be educated – and commercialized.
"I think the fact that the international society holds us in this regard is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
