"Parents located in north London is looking for an exceptional and qualified instructor to guide their smallest child on his initial journey to becoming an English gentleman."
Upon seeing this post, you might easily skip the phrase "initial stages" as just figurative language.
However, it may be the crucial element of this unusual position posting, as it attempts to hire a mentor for a infant.
Many of submissions have already been received since the anonymous family posted their call for the highly paid tutor, who needs to be "an exceptional individual".
During the past few weeks, the listing has gained notice in the news, with numerous questioning why?
Innovative Idea
A tutoring expert, head and founder of Tutors International, which is helping the family in their search, explained that in spite of first skepticism, he considered the idea "far sighted", and "innovative".
When he met the family, he mentioned they appreciated the unconventional nature of their request, and how immature their son is.
Nevertheless, they stated that they "didn't want to wait any longer" to get a tutor, as they had waited until their elder sibling was five, and by that age "cultural influence had already set in".
What exactly does the family refer to by "cultural predisposition"?
It's "everything", the expert responded. "The way you eat, the manner you speak".
He stated the firstborn had adopted "really subtle, unspoken signals" from the family, and had adopted their cultural norms. The family explained to Adam they wished to avoid the same situation to recur with their younger child.
The intention: To bring in a English tutor, who should speak with RP, to guide the baby from the very start.
Subtle Influence
"A lot of the education at the outset here is rather osmotic," explained the expert.
It's by means of this natural absorption that the family are aiming the child will pick up the UK customs they aim to cultivate.
He said the tutor must be an individual who attended "the appropriate educational institutions – the same kinds of schools as the family hope to send their son to".
"The tutor simply needs to be the appropriate candidate, they'll be carrying out things they aren't even aware they're doing, effortlessly," he added.
Expense Not a Factor
The family explained to him the selected educator should ideally also have familiarity of or interest in horse riding, skiing, the arts and musical activities so as to inspire the child in a diverse set of interests.
Additionally though, he explained the family wanted the tutor to register the child on a range of classes so the child would be "horseback riding and starting an instrument by the time they are about three years old".
In the family's minds, helping their son become a "English gentleman" will lead to accomplishment and provide access.
"Taking into account the advantages and disadvantages of that, because it's definitely a social class indicator," he notes.
However, in spite of all this guidance in "Britishness", would the child absorb alleged cultural bias from the international family he resides with regardless?
"Yes", replied the CEO. "The parents understand this might not succeed, but they've simply adopted the attitude of, 'we should try and we should start as quickly as we can', because the expense of it is not relevant," he said.
Impractical
There are some in the private teaching field who express similar reservations.
Peter Cui, head and founder of a tutoring service, who also offer personal educators, commented that "the development of adopting dual cultures, or in fact, becoming oneself, is something that must be experienced personally, not engineered."
The expert explained that he had moved from the Far East to the Britain at the age of 7 years old, and had been brought up experiencing and embodying both cultures. He went on to study at Cambridge University.
"The concept that one individual can function as a embodiment of Britishness, someone who can possibly transplant the attributes of a English gentleman onto a 12-month-old child, strikes me as optimistic and impractical," he stated.
"In my experience, engaging a quintessentially English tutor from early childhood will not automatically achieve the outcome they hope for.
"I never had such a tutor, and however I have been fortunate enough to enjoy numerous of the experiences they hope for their son."
He added: "The reality is, cultural identity cannot be imposed from the outside; it must be embraced, and it must come from within."
Buying Britishness
Of course, UK identity is something the expert hopes can be instructed – and commercialized.
"I believe the situation that the global community regards us in this regard is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
