"A household based in the northern part of London is looking for an exceptional and qualified tutor to guide their most junior child on his first steps to turning into an English gentleman."
When reading this listing, you might easily skip the wording "beginning" as simple a turn of phrase.
But, it may be the most important element of this distinctive job advert, as it aims to hire a teacher for a infant.
Many of applications have since been submitted since the unnamed family published their call for the £180,000 per year tutor, who needs to be "someone very special".
During the past few weeks, the post has gained attention across the media, with numerous wondering why?
Innovative Idea
The CEO, CEO and founder of Tutors International, which is supporting the family in their quest, explained that despite early scepticism, he viewed the concept "visionary", and "advanced".
When he met the family, he said they understood the atypical nature of their demand, and how immature their son is.
However, they stated that they "didn't want to wait any longer" to hire a tutor, as they had postponed until their firstborn was five, and by that point "cultural influence had by then set in".
But what does the family refer to by "cultural bias"?
It's "all-encompassing", the expert answered. "The way you eat, the manner you speak".
He stated the firstborn had adopted "really subtle, body language" from the family, and had adopted their cultural habits. The family informed Adam they wished to avoid the same situation to recur with their new baby.
The plan: To engage a UK tutor, who needs to speak with Received Pronunciation, to guide the baby right from the beginning.
Subtle Influence
"A great deal of the learning at the outset here is kind of absorbed naturally," explained Adam.
It's through this subtle influence that the family are expecting the child will acquire the UK customs they wish to cultivate.
He said the tutor needed to be someone who went to "the appropriate educational institutions – similar types of schools as the family hope to send their son to".
"The educator just has to be the suitable individual, they'll be doing things they don't even know they're doing, simply by nature," he added.
Cost Not Relevant
The family informed the expert the successful candidate should ideally also have knowledge of or passion in equestrian activities, alpine skiing, artistic pursuits and musical activities so as to shape the child in a wide range of interests.
More than that though, he explained the family wanted the tutor to register the child on a selection of lessons so the child would be "equestrian training and picking up an tool by the time they are approximately three years old".
In the family's view, guiding their son grow into a "British gentleman" will bring about success and create opportunities.
"Taking into account the advantages and disadvantages of that, because it's undoubtedly a social class indicator," he notes.
Yet, despite all this guidance in "Britishness", would the child adopt so-called cultural bias from the multicultural family he lives with in any case?
"Certainly", said he. "The family know this might not succeed, but they've simply adopted the perspective of, 'let's give it a go and we'll proceed as soon as we can', because the price of it is not a concern," he stated.
Impractical
Several in the tutoring industry who express these reservations.
An education leader, head and founder of an educational organization, who also offer individual instructors, stated that "the journey of embracing two identities, or indeed, becoming oneself, is something that must be lived into, not engineered."
He noted that he had emigrated from the Far East to the UK at the time of 7 years old, and had been educated understanding and practicing dual heritages. He went on to be educated at Cambridge University.
"The notion that one individual can act as a representation of English culture, an individual who can somehow transfer the characteristics of a English gentleman upon a one-year-old child, strikes me as naive and unfeasible," he wrote.
"From my perspective, employing a quintessentially English tutor from babyhood will does not instantly achieve the outcome they hope for.
"I did not have that kind of mentor, and nevertheless I have been fortunate enough to experience numerous of the opportunities they hope for their son."
He added: "The reality is, personal identity cannot be dictated from the external environment; it must be selected, and it must be internally driven."
Buying Britishness
Certainly, Britishness is something the expert hopes can be taught – and sold.
"I believe the situation that the international society views us in this respect is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
