"A family based in the northern part of London wants to find an extraordinary and qualified educator to assist their youngest child on his early path to turning into an British gentleman."
When reading this listing, you might readily skip the wording "first-steps" as simple figurative language.
Yet, it could be the crucial element of this unusual position posting, as it attempts to hire a tutor for a one-year-old.
Numerous of applications have since been sent in since the anonymous family published their call for the £180,000 per year tutor, who must be "an exceptional individual".
Over the last few weeks, the post has attracted interest across the press, with numerous wondering why?
Innovative Idea
The CEO, CEO and founder of a global tutoring firm, which is helping the family in their quest, explained that notwithstanding early skepticism, he viewed the idea "visionary", and "advanced".
When he consulted the family, he said they appreciated the unusual nature of their requirement, and how early in age their son is.
But, 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 point "cultural bias had by then set in".
What exactly did the family indicate by "cultural bias"?
It's "everything", the expert replied. "The manner you eat, the way you speak".
He explained the elder child had adopted "extremely delicate, unspoken signals" from the family, and had adopted their cultural habits. The family told the consultant they wished to avoid the same situation to happen again with their younger child.
The strategy: To bring in a British tutor, who must speak with RP, to influence the baby from the very start.
Subtle Influence
"A great deal of the development at the outset here is rather osmotic," said the CEO.
It's via this subtle influence that the family are expecting the child will adopt the British traits they wish to instil.
The consultant said the tutor must be an individual who attended "the appropriate educational institutions – comparable categories of schools as the family plan to send their son to".
"The tutor just has to be the appropriate candidate, they'll be doing things they don't even know they're doing, just naturally," he added.
Cost Not Relevant
The family explained to the expert the selected educator should ideally also have understanding of or interest in equestrian activities, alpine skiing, the arts and musical activities so as to shape the child in a diverse set of passions.
More than that though, he said the family desired the tutor to enrol the child on a selection of courses so the child would be "horseback riding and learning an instrument by the time they are approximately three years old".
In the family's minds, helping their son grow into a "English gentleman" will result in success and provide access.
"Considering the rights and wrongs of that, because it's undoubtedly a status symbol," he adds.
However, in spite of all this guidance in "English culture", could the child pick up so-called cultural influence from the international family he lives with in any case?
"Certainly", answered he. "The parents know this might not succeed, but they've merely embraced the view of, 'let's give it a go and let's go as quickly as we can', because the expense of it is not a concern," he explained.
Idealistic and Unrealistic
Several in the education sector who share these doubts.
Peter Cui, head and founder of an educational organization, who supplies personal educators, commented that "the development of adopting dual cultures, or indeed, becoming oneself, is something that must be grown into, not manufactured."
Peter explained that he had moved from China to the United Kingdom at the time of seven, and had been brought up experiencing and embodying dual heritages. He continued to learn at a prestigious UK institution.
"The idea that one individual can act as a embodiment of UK identity, someone who can possibly transfer the characteristics of a British gentleman upon a infant child, seems to me naive and unrealistic," he wrote.
"From my perspective, having a quintessentially UK tutor from babyhood will does not automatically achieve the goal they want.
"I wasn't provided with such a figure, and nevertheless I have been privileged enough to live numerous of the situations they desire for their son."
He continued: "The truth is, self-identity cannot be dictated from the external environment; it must be chosen, and it must come from within."
Acquiring Englishness
Of course, English culture is something Adam believes can be instructed – and commercialized.
"I think the fact that the world regards us in this respect is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
