"A family based in the northern part of London seeks an remarkable and skilled tutor to guide their smallest child on his first steps to turning into an British gentleman."
Looking at this advertisement, you might easily overlook the wording "first-steps" as mere a turn of phrase.
However, it could be the most important element of this distinctive employment listing, as it attempts to hire a tutor for a one-year-old.
Hundreds of responses have since been submitted since the unidentified family posted their request for the highly paid tutor, who has to be "someone very special".
Over the last few weeks, the advert has gained attention across the press, with several wondering why?
Innovative Idea
The CEO, chief executive of an education consultancy, which is assisting the family in their hunt, stated that in spite of initial doubt, he considered the plan "far sighted", and "innovative".
When he spoke with the family, he mentioned they appreciated the unusual character of their demand, and how early in age their son is.
Nevertheless, they explained that they "preferred not to postpone any longer" to engage a tutor, as they had postponed until their firstborn was five, and by that age "cultural conditioning had by then become established".
But what did the family indicate by "cultural bias"?
It's "comprehensive", Adam replied. "The manner you eat, the manner you speak".
He stated the older sibling had absorbed "very nuanced, unspoken signals" from the family, and had assumed their cultural norms. The family told him they wished to avoid this pattern to happen again with their younger child.
The strategy: To bring in a UK tutor, who needs to speak with RP, to shape the baby from the very start.
Osmotic Learning
"A great deal of the education at the beginning here is somewhat osmotic," explained Adam.
It's through this natural absorption that the family are expecting the child will adopt the UK customs they aim to impart.
The consultant said the tutor had to be somebody who attended "the right kinds of schools – comparable categories 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 don't even know they're doing, effortlessly," he commented.
Cost Not Relevant
The family explained to him the successful candidate should preferably also have knowledge of or enthusiasm in horse riding, alpine skiing, creative fields and musical activities so as to inspire the child in a wide range of passions.
More than that though, he stated the family desired the tutor to register the child on a variety of courses so the child would be "pony-riding and picking up an musical instrument by the time they are about three years old".
In the family's minds, guiding their son develop into a "English gentleman" will result in achievement and provide access.
"Considering the advantages and disadvantages of that, because it's certainly a status symbol," he notes.
However, despite all this guidance in "Britishness", might the child absorb what is termed cultural influence from the multicultural family he resides with regardless?
"Yes", replied the CEO. "The family realize this may not work, but they've merely embraced the attitude of, 'we should try and we'll proceed as early as we can', because the price of it is not a concern," he said.
Idealistic and Unrealistic
There are some in the education sector who share those concerns.
An education leader, head and founder of a tutoring service, who provides personal educators, stated that "the process of becoming bicultural, or actually, becoming oneself, is something that must be lived into, not manufactured."
The expert noted that he had moved from the Far East to the Britain at the period of childhood, and had been brought up knowing and living dual heritages. He continued to study at a prestigious UK institution.
"The concept that an individual can act as a embodiment of UK identity, an individual who can possibly transfer the characteristics of a UK sophisticate upon a one-year-old child, seems to me naive and unrealistic," he stated.
"In my experience, having a distinctly British tutor from early childhood will does not instantly produce the outcome they desire.
"I did not have such a figure, and however I have been privileged enough to experience several of the situations they hope for their son."
He continued: "The fact is, cultural identity should not be dictated from the outside influences; it must be selected, and it must originate internally."
Purchasing UK Culture
Naturally, UK identity is something Adam believes can be taught – and marketed.
"I think the reality that the global community holds us in this regard is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
