"Parents located in North London is looking for an exceptional and qualified instructor to assist their youngest child on his first steps to growing into an English gentleman."
When reading this listing, you might easily skip the wording "initial stages" as mere an expression.
But, it could be the crucial aspect of this distinctive employment listing, as it seeks to recruit a mentor for a 12-month-old.
Hundreds of submissions have since been submitted since the unidentified family advertised their request for the highly paid tutor, who must be "a uniquely qualified person".
During the past few weeks, the advert has received attention in the news, with several wondering why?
Innovative Idea
The CEO, chief executive of a global tutoring firm, which is supporting the family in their quest, said that despite initial doubt, he considered the idea "far sighted", and "innovative".
When he consulted the family, he mentioned they recognized the atypical character of their requirement, and how immature their son is.
Nevertheless, they stated that they "preferred not to postpone any longer" to get a tutor, as they had waited until their firstborn was five, and by that stage "cultural conditioning had by then become established".
What exactly does the family indicate by "cultural leaning"?
It's "all-encompassing", the expert replied. "The way you eat, the manner you speak".
He said the older sibling had picked up "extremely delicate, unspoken signals" from the family, and had adopted their cultural ways. The family informed him they hoped to prevent the same situation to happen again with their younger child.
The intention: To engage a English tutor, who needs to speak with RP, to guide the baby from the very start.
Subtle Influence
"Much of the development at the beginning here is rather osmotic," said Adam.
It's by means of this natural absorption that the family are aiming the child will adopt the UK customs they aim to instil.
He noted the tutor must be someone who attended "the right kinds of schools – the same kinds of schools as the family aspire to send their son to".
"The instructor just has to be the appropriate candidate, they'll be carrying out things they don't even know they're doing, simply by nature," he added.
Money No Object
The family told Adam the selected educator should ideally also have understanding of or interest in riding, alpine skiing, artistic pursuits and music so as to shape the child in a diverse set of hobbies.
Furthermore though, he explained the family desired the tutor to sign up the child on a range of courses so the child would be "pony-riding and learning an musical instrument by the time they are around three years old".
In the family's view, assisting their son become a "UK sophisticate" will result in accomplishment and provide access.
"Taking into account the pros and cons of that, because it's definitely a status symbol," he notes.
However, in spite of all this guidance in "Britishness", could the child pick up what is termed cultural influence from the globally influenced family he is raised by in any case?
"Certainly", answered the CEO. "The family understand this may not work, but they've simply adopted the perspective of, 'we should try and we should start as quickly as we can', because the price of it is not relevant," he explained.
Impractical
Several in the education sector who express similar concerns.
Peter Cui, CEO and founder of a tutoring service, who also offer private tutors, wrote that "the development of adopting dual cultures, or indeed, discovering oneself, is something that must be lived into, not engineered."
He explained that he had relocated from the Far East to the United Kingdom at the time of seven, and had been educated experiencing and embodying dual heritages. He went on to be educated at the University of Cambridge.
"The concept that a single person can act as a representation of English culture, an individual who can in some way transplant the qualities of a UK sophisticate to a infant child, appears optimistic and unrealistic," he commented.
"Based on my background, employing a typically British tutor from infancy will will not automatically create the outcome they want.
"I never had such a figure, and nevertheless I have been lucky enough to enjoy several of the opportunities they desire for their son."
He continued: "The reality is, personal identity cannot be imposed from the outside; it must be chosen, and it must come from within."
Buying Britishness
Certainly, UK identity is something the expert believes can be educated – and commercialized.
"In my view the reality that the global community holds us in this light is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
