"A family located in the northern part of London wants to find an extraordinary and qualified instructor to assist their youngest child on his early path to growing into an English gentleman."
When reading this post, you might readily overlook the phrase "initial stages" as mere an expression.
However, it may be the crucial part of this distinctive position posting, as it seeks to find a mentor for a one-year-old.
Hundreds of submissions have since been submitted since the anonymous family published their search for the highly paid tutor, who needs to be "an exceptional individual".
During the past few weeks, the advert has gained attention in the press, with several wondering why?
Progressive Approach
A tutoring expert, chief executive of an education consultancy, which is assisting the family in their hunt, explained that notwithstanding initial doubt, he found the concept "far sighted", and "progressive".
When he met the family, he noted they recognized the atypical character of their requirement, and how early in age their son is.
However, they stated that they "were unwilling to delay any longer" to get a tutor, as they had held off until their elder sibling was five, and by that point "cultural bias had by then set in".
What precisely does the family indicate by "cultural predisposition"?
It's "comprehensive", the expert responded. "The manner you eat, the way you speak".
He said the firstborn had picked up "really subtle, body language" from the family, and had adopted their cultural ways. The family told him they hoped to prevent this pattern to happen again with their younger child.
The intention: To engage a UK tutor, who must speak with RP, to guide the baby from day one.
Natural Absorption
"A lot of the education at the outset here is somewhat absorbed naturally," said the expert.
It's via this osmosis that the family are aiming the child will acquire the UK customs they want to instil.
The consultant explained the tutor needed to be somebody who studied at "the appropriate educational institutions – comparable categories of schools as the family hope to send their son to".
"The educator must be the right kind of person, they'll be carrying out things they aren't even aware they're doing, effortlessly," he added.
Expense Not a Factor
The family explained to the expert the selected educator should ideally also have understanding of or interest in horse riding, alpine skiing, creative fields and music so as to influence the child in a diverse set of passions.
Furthermore though, he explained the family hoped the tutor to register the child on a variety of lessons so the child would be "horseback riding and learning an tool by the time they are about three years old".
In the family's minds, guiding their son grow into a "British gentleman" will bring about achievement and create opportunities.
"For all the rights and wrongs of that, because it's definitely a social class indicator," he notes.
But, in spite of all this instruction in "Britishness", might the child pick up what is termed cultural influence from the multicultural family he resides with in any case?
"Yes", answered he. "The parents realize this might not succeed, but they've just taken the view of, 'we should try and we should start as early as we can', because the price of it is not relevant," he explained.
Idealistic and Unrealistic
There are some in the private teaching field who express similar reservations.
An education leader, head and founder of an educational organization, who supplies private tutors, commented that "the journey of becoming bicultural, or actually, forming one's identity, is something that must be lived into, not manufactured."
Peter noted that he had emigrated from the Far East to the UK at the period of seven, and had been raised understanding and living dual heritages. He progressed to be educated at a prestigious UK institution.
"The concept that one individual can act as a living vessel of Britishness, an individual who can somehow transfer the attributes of a English gentleman to a 12-month-old child, appears idealistic and impractical," he commented.
"Based on my background, having a quintessentially UK tutor from babyhood will does not automatically produce the result they want.
"I did not have such a figure, and yet I have been fortunate enough to enjoy several of the opportunities they desire for their son."
He added: "The fact is, self-identity should not be forced from the outside; it must be chosen, and it must originate internally."
Buying Britishness
Certainly, UK identity is something the CEO thinks can be educated – and marketed.
"I believe the fact that the international society holds us in this regard is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
