"A family located in North London seeks an remarkable and skilled instructor to guide their most junior child on his first steps to becoming an English gentleman."
Looking at this advertisement, you might naturally skip the term "first-steps" as just an expression.
But, it could be the crucial part of this unusual job advert, as it aims to recruit a tutor for a infant.
Hundreds of submissions have since been sent in since the unidentified family advertised their request for the £180,000 per year tutor, who must be "an exceptional individual".
Over the last few weeks, the advert has gained interest in the press, with many questioning why?
Forward-Thinking Method
Adam Caller, CEO and founder of a global tutoring firm, which is assisting the family in their quest, stated that in spite of early scepticism, he considered the idea "visionary", and "advanced".
When he met the family, he mentioned they recognized the unusual aspect of their demand, and how immature their son is.
Nevertheless, they explained that they "were unwilling to delay any longer" to engage a tutor, as they had postponed until their elder sibling was five, and by that age "cultural influence had already taken hold".
What exactly did the family mean by "cultural leaning"?
It's "all-encompassing", the expert responded. "The way you eat, how you speak".
He said the older sibling had absorbed "very nuanced, unspoken signals" from the family, and had assumed their cultural norms. The family explained to him they hoped to prevent the same situation to recur with their infant.
The intention: To bring in a UK tutor, who must speak with standard English accent, to guide the baby from the very start.
Subtle Influence
"Much of the development at the beginning here is kind of absorbed naturally," explained the CEO.
It's by means of this osmosis that the family are aiming the child will acquire the English characteristics they aim to cultivate.
The consultant noted the tutor must be someone who attended "prestigious academies – similar types of schools as the family aspire to send their son to".
"The tutor just has to be the right kind of person, they'll be carrying out things they don't even know they're doing, simply by nature," he said.
Cost Not Relevant
The family informed Adam the chosen tutor should ideally also have knowledge of or passion in horse riding, skiing, the arts and musical activities so as to shape the child in a broad spectrum of interests.
More than that though, he stated the family desired the tutor to register the child on a selection of classes so the child would be "pony-riding and picking up an musical instrument by the time they are about three years old".
In the family's perspective, assisting their son grow into a "British gentleman" will lead to success and provide access.
"For all the advantages and disadvantages of that, because it's undoubtedly a social class indicator," he notes.
However, despite all this guidance in "English culture", could the child absorb alleged cultural influence from the multicultural family he is raised by in any case?
"Absolutely", answered Adam. "They know this could fail, but they've just taken the perspective of, 'we should try and we'll proceed as soon as we can', because the cost of it is not a concern," he stated.
Idealistic and Unrealistic
Several in the private teaching field who have these concerns.
An education leader, head and founder of an educational organization, who also offer private tutors, stated that "the process of embracing two identities, or indeed, discovering oneself, is something that must be grown into, not manufactured."
Peter explained that he had emigrated from China to the United Kingdom at the age of seven, and had been raised knowing and practicing two backgrounds. He progressed to study at the University of Cambridge.
"The idea that an individual can act as a living vessel of Britishness, an individual who can in some way transfer the qualities of a English gentleman onto a infant child, appears optimistic and unrealistic," he wrote.
"From my perspective, having a distinctly UK tutor from babyhood will does not instantly achieve the goal they desire.
"I never had that kind of mentor, and however I have been lucky enough to enjoy several of the situations they aspire for their son."
He stated: "The truth is, self-identity should not be forced from the outside influences; it must be selected, and it must originate internally."
Purchasing UK Culture
Of course, UK identity is something the expert hopes can be instructed – and marketed.
"I think the reality that the international society holds us in this respect is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
