"A family located in the northern part of London seeks an remarkable and skilled educator to support their youngest child on his first steps to growing into an English gentleman."
Looking at this post, you might easily miss the wording "first-steps" as mere an expression.
Yet, it might be the most significant element of this distinctive position posting, as it seeks to hire a teacher for a one-year-old.
Many of submissions have since been received since the unnamed family published their search for the highly paid tutor, who must be "a uniquely qualified person".
Over the last few weeks, the post has received attention in the news, with many questioning why?
Progressive Approach
Adam Caller, head and founder of a global tutoring firm, which is supporting the family in their search, explained that notwithstanding early scepticism, he considered the concept "visionary", and "progressive".
When he spoke with the family, he mentioned they appreciated the unconventional character of their demand, and how young their son is.
Nevertheless, they stated that they "didn't want to wait any longer" to hire a tutor, as they had postponed until their older child was five, and by that stage "cultural bias had by then become established".
What precisely does the family indicate by "cultural bias"?
It's "all-encompassing", Adam replied. "The way you eat, how you speak".
He explained the elder child had picked up "really subtle, unspoken signals" from the family, and had adopted their cultural norms. The family informed the consultant they wished to avoid this pattern to repeat itself with their infant.
The intention: To engage a British tutor, who should speak with RP, to influence the baby from day one.
Natural Absorption
"A great deal of the learning at the start here is kind of acquired indirectly," explained the CEO.
It's by means of this subtle influence that the family are expecting the child will acquire the British traits they wish to cultivate.
Adam noted the tutor had to be an individual who studied at "prestigious academies – similar types of schools as the family hope to send their son to".
"The instructor just has to be the suitable individual, they'll be performing things they may not realize they're doing, simply by nature," he commented.
Money No Object
The family informed the expert the chosen tutor should ideally also have familiarity of or passion in horse riding, skiing, the arts and music so as to inspire the child in a broad spectrum of hobbies.
More than that though, he said the family desired the tutor to sign up the child on a variety of courses so the child would be "equestrian training and picking up an musical instrument by the time they are about three years old".
In the family's minds, helping their son grow into a "British gentleman" will result in accomplishment and provide access.
"Taking into account the advantages and disadvantages of that, because it's certainly a class statement," he adds.
But, despite all this guidance in "English culture", could the child adopt alleged cultural bias from the globally influenced family he is raised by in any case?
"Certainly", answered the CEO. "They know this could fail, but they've just taken the attitude of, 'we should try and we should start as soon as we can', because the price of it is irrelevant," he explained.
Idealistic and Unrealistic
A number of in the education sector who share those reservations.
An education leader, head and founder of Blue Education, who provides individual instructors, stated that "the development of embracing two identities, or in fact, becoming oneself, is something that must be lived into, not manufactured."
The expert explained that he had emigrated from Asia to the United Kingdom at the age of 7 years old, and had been brought up experiencing and embodying two backgrounds. He continued to learn at the University of Cambridge.
"The concept that one individual can serve as a embodiment of UK identity, someone who can in some way impart the attributes of a English gentleman onto a 12-month-old child, seems to me idealistic and unfeasible," he commented.
"From my perspective, having a distinctly British tutor from infancy will will not automatically achieve the goal they want.
"I never had that kind of mentor, and however I have been fortunate enough to enjoy several of the opportunities they hope for their son."
He continued: "The reality is, self-identity cannot be forced from the outside influences; it must be embraced, and it must be internally driven."
Buying Britishness
Naturally, Britishness is something Adam believes can be educated – and commercialized.
"In my view the situation that the world regards us in this regard is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
