"A household located in the northern part of London wants to find an remarkable and qualified tutor to guide their youngest child on his first steps to becoming an English gentleman."
Upon seeing this post, you might easily miss the wording "first-steps" as simple an expression.
But, it might be the most significant part of this unique position posting, as it attempts to hire a mentor for a one-year-old.
Many of responses have since been received since the unnamed family advertised their call for the highly paid tutor, who must be "someone very special".
Over the last few weeks, the advert has gained attention in the press, with several questioning why?
Innovative Idea
Adam Caller, chief executive of Tutors International, which is supporting the family in their quest, stated that notwithstanding early doubt, he found the concept "far sighted", and "progressive".
When he spoke with the family, he said they appreciated the unconventional character of their requirement, and how young their son is.
Nevertheless, they clarified that they "preferred not to postpone any longer" to hire a tutor, as they had waited until their elder sibling was five, and by that stage "cultural influence had by then taken hold".
But what did the family mean by "cultural leaning"?
It's "comprehensive", he replied. "How you eat, how you speak".
He explained the older sibling had absorbed "very nuanced, body language" from the family, and had assumed their cultural ways. The family informed the consultant they did not want this pattern to happen again with their new baby.
The plan: To hire a English tutor, who needs to speak with standard English accent, to guide the baby right from the beginning.
Natural Absorption
"A lot of the learning at the start here is kind of acquired indirectly," said the expert.
It's through this subtle influence that the family are aiming the child will adopt the British traits they wish to instil.
He explained the tutor must be someone who attended "the right kinds of schools – comparable categories of schools as the family plan to send their son to".
"The instructor must be the right kind of person, they'll be performing things they aren't even aware they're doing, effortlessly," he said.
Expense Not a Factor
The family explained to the expert the selected educator should ideally also have knowledge of or enthusiasm in equestrian activities, skiing, artistic pursuits and musical activities so as to shape the child in a wide range of hobbies.
More than that though, he explained the family desired the tutor to register the child on a variety of classes so the child would be "equestrian training and learning an tool by the time they are around three years old".
In the family's minds, helping their son develop into a "UK sophisticate" will lead to accomplishment and open doors.
"Considering the advantages and disadvantages of that, because it's certainly a class statement," he notes.
However, despite all this tutelage in "English culture", would the child pick up so-called cultural bias from the globally influenced family he lives with anyway?
"Certainly", answered the CEO. "The family know this may not work, but they've simply adopted the attitude of, 'let's give it a go and let's go as soon as we can', because the price of it is not a concern," he said.
Impractical
There are some in the tutoring industry who have similar reservations.
Peter Cui, CEO and founder of a tutoring service, who provides private tutors, commented that "the development of embracing two identities, or in fact, becoming oneself, is something that must be grown into, not manufactured."
Peter wrote that he had relocated from the Far East to the Britain at the age of childhood, and had been brought up experiencing and embodying two backgrounds. He went on to learn at Cambridge University.
"The idea that one individual can serve as a embodiment of English culture, a person who can in some way transfer the characteristics of a English gentleman onto a infant child, seems to me optimistic and unfeasible," he commented.
"From my perspective, employing a typically British tutor from early childhood will will not automatically create the result they hope for.
"I never had such a tutor, and nevertheless I have been privileged enough to experience several of the experiences they aspire for their son."
He added: "The reality is, cultural identity can not be imposed from the external environment; it must be embraced, and it must be internally driven."
Purchasing UK Culture
Of course, Britishness is something the CEO hopes can be educated – and marketed.
"I believe the fact that the international society holds us in this light is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
