"A family residing in north London seeks an remarkable and experienced tutor to assist their youngest child on his first steps to growing into an English gentleman."
When reading this advertisement, you might naturally skip the wording "first-steps" as just figurative language.
Yet, it could be the most important part of this unusual position posting, as it seeks to hire a tutor for a 12-month-old.
Hundreds of responses have since been received since the unidentified family posted their search for the highly paid tutor, who needs to be "an exceptional individual".
Over the last few weeks, the post has gained interest in the press, with numerous asking why?
Progressive Approach
A tutoring expert, chief executive of an education consultancy, which is assisting the family in their quest, explained that in spite of first scepticism, he considered the concept "forward-looking", and "advanced".
When he consulted the family, he mentioned they recognized the atypical nature of their request, and how early in age their son is.
Nevertheless, they clarified that they "preferred not to postpone any longer" to get a tutor, as they had waited until their firstborn was five, and by that point "cultural influence had already taken hold".
What precisely did the family indicate by "cultural predisposition"?
It's "everything", Adam replied. "The way you eat, the manner you speak".
He said the older sibling had picked up "very nuanced, body language" from the family, and had assumed their cultural habits. The family explained to Adam they did not want this pattern to recur with their younger child.
The strategy: To bring in a UK tutor, who needs to speak with RP, to guide the baby right from the beginning.
Osmotic Learning
"A great deal of the development at the outset here is rather absorbed naturally," explained the expert.
It's via this osmosis that the family are hoping the child will acquire the English characteristics they aim to impart.
The consultant explained the tutor had to be someone who went to "the right kinds of schools – the same kinds of schools as the family hope to send their son to".
"The tutor must be the appropriate candidate, they'll be performing things they aren't even aware they're doing, simply by nature," he commented.
Cost Not Relevant
The family explained to him the successful candidate should ideally also have knowledge of or passion in equestrian activities, winter sports, the arts and instrumental training so as to inspire the child in a wide range of hobbies.
Additionally though, he explained the family hoped the tutor to enrol the child on a range of courses so the child would be "horseback riding and picking up an tool by the time they are about three years old".
In the family's perspective, helping their son develop into a "English gentleman" will lead to success and create opportunities.
"Taking into account the rights and wrongs of that, because it's certainly a social class indicator," he adds.
However, in spite of all this guidance in "UK identity", could the child absorb so-called cultural bias from the multicultural family he resides with in any case?
"Certainly", answered Adam. "They realize this could fail, but they've just taken the view of, 'why not attempt it and we should start as quickly as we can', because the cost of it is not a concern," he said.
Impractical
Several in the tutoring industry who express similar doubts.
Peter Cui, head and founder of a tutoring service, who supplies personal educators, commented that "the process of adopting dual cultures, or indeed, becoming oneself, is something that must be lived into, not manufactured."
Peter explained that he had relocated from Asia to the Britain at the age of 7 years old, and had been raised experiencing and practicing dual heritages. He went on to learn at the University of Cambridge.
"The notion that an individual can serve as a living vessel of English culture, a person who can possibly impart the qualities of a British gentleman to a infant child, seems to me naive and unrealistic," he wrote.
"From my perspective, engaging a quintessentially UK tutor from babyhood will not automatically achieve the goal they desire.
"I did not have that kind of mentor, and nevertheless I have been privileged enough to enjoy many of the opportunities they aspire for their son."
He added: "The reality is, personal identity can not be imposed from the outside; it must be embraced, and it must be internally driven."
Acquiring Englishness
Naturally, Britishness is something the CEO hopes can be educated – and commercialized.
"In my view the fact that the global community regards us in this respect is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
