"A family based in north London is looking for an remarkable and qualified instructor to support their youngest child on his first steps to becoming an British gentleman."
Looking at this post, you might readily skip the phrase "beginning" as just figurative language.
But, it might be the crucial aspect of this unusual job advert, as it attempts to find a tutor for a one-year-old.
Many of responses have since been received since the unnamed family posted their search for the £180k-a-year tutor, who needs to be "someone very special".
During the past few weeks, the post has received notice throughout the media, with numerous asking why?
Innovative Idea
Adam Caller, CEO and founder of a global tutoring firm, which is assisting the family in their hunt, said that in spite of first skepticism, he found the concept "visionary", and "advanced".
When he consulted the family, he mentioned they recognized the unconventional aspect of their request, and how immature their son is.
But, they stated that they "preferred not to postpone any longer" to get a tutor, as they had waited until their older child was five, and by that age "cultural influence had already taken hold".
But what did the family mean by "cultural predisposition"?
It's "everything", he responded. "The way you eat, the way you speak".
He said the elder child had picked up "extremely delicate, body language" from the family, and had adopted their cultural ways. The family informed Adam they did not want the same situation to repeat itself with their younger child.
The strategy: To bring in a UK tutor, who should speak with standard English accent, to influence the baby right from the beginning.
Osmotic Learning
"Much of the learning at the outset here is rather osmotic," stated Adam.
It's by means of this natural absorption that the family are expecting the child will adopt the UK customs they wish to instil.
The consultant explained the tutor needed to be an individual who went to "the right kinds of schools – comparable categories of schools as the family hope to send their son to".
"The instructor simply needs to be the appropriate candidate, they'll be performing things they may not realize they're doing, just naturally," he added.
Cost Not Relevant
The family explained to him the chosen tutor should ideally also have familiarity of or interest in riding, skiing, creative fields and music so as to inspire the child in a wide range of passions.
Furthermore though, he stated the family hoped the tutor to enrol the child on a selection of lessons so the child would be "pony-riding and picking up an tool by the time they are approximately three years old".
In the family's minds, guiding their son become a "English gentleman" will lead to accomplishment and provide access.
"For all the advantages and disadvantages of that, because it's definitely a status symbol," he notes.
But, notwithstanding all this instruction in "Britishness", would the child adopt so-called cultural bias from the international family he resides with regardless?
"Yes", said the CEO. "The parents realize this could fail, but they've simply adopted the view of, 'why not attempt it and we'll proceed as quickly as we can', because the cost of it is not a concern," he said.
Idealistic and Unrealistic
Several in the education sector who have similar concerns.
Another CEO, head and founder of an educational organization, who provides private tutors, wrote that "the process of embracing two identities, or indeed, becoming oneself, is something that must be experienced personally, not manufactured."
The expert wrote that he had moved from Asia to the United Kingdom at the time of 7 years old, and had been educated knowing and embodying both cultures. He went on to study at Cambridge University.
"The notion that a single person can act as a embodiment of English culture, a person who can in some way transfer the qualities of a UK sophisticate to a 12-month-old child, strikes me as optimistic and unfeasible," he wrote.
"From my perspective, employing a distinctly UK tutor from babyhood will not necessarily create the result they hope for.
"I never had that kind of mentor, and yet I have been lucky enough to enjoy many of the experiences they desire for their son."
He added: "The truth is, self-identity cannot be imposed from the outside influences; it must be embraced, and it must be internally driven."
Purchasing UK Culture
Of course, Britishness is something the expert thinks can be educated – and sold.
"I think the fact that the world regards us in this respect is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
