"Parents located in the northern part of London seeks an exceptional and skilled educator to guide their most junior child on his first steps to becoming an British gentleman."
When reading this advertisement, you might naturally skip the wording "first-steps" as just a turn of phrase.
But, it might be the most significant aspect of this distinctive employment listing, as it aims to hire a mentor for a 12-month-old.
Hundreds of submissions have already been received since the unidentified family posted their search for the £180,000 per year tutor, who has to be "an exceptional individual".
During the past few weeks, the post has gained attention across the news, with numerous asking why?
Progressive Approach
Adam Caller, chief executive of a global tutoring firm, which is assisting the family in their search, explained that despite early skepticism, he viewed the concept "far sighted", and "progressive".
When he consulted the family, he said they understood the unusual nature of their requirement, and how early in age their son is.
Nevertheless, they clarified that they "didn't want to wait any longer" to hire a tutor, as they had waited until their elder sibling was five, and by that stage "cultural bias had already taken hold".
What precisely does the family indicate by "cultural bias"?
It's "all-encompassing", Adam replied. "The manner you eat, the way you speak".
He explained the older sibling had adopted "very nuanced, non-verbal cues" from the family, and had adopted their cultural habits. The family explained to him they did not want this pattern to repeat itself with their infant.
The intention: To hire a UK tutor, who should speak with Received Pronunciation, to guide the baby from the very start.
Subtle Influence
"A lot of the learning at the start here is somewhat absorbed naturally," explained Adam.
It's via this subtle influence that the family are aiming the child will adopt the UK customs they wish to instil.
The consultant explained the tutor had to be somebody who studied at "prestigious academies – similar types of schools as the family aspire to send their son to".
"The tutor simply needs to be the right kind of person, they'll be carrying out things they may not realize they're doing, simply by nature," he commented.
Money No Object
The family informed him the selected educator should ideally also have familiarity of or interest in riding, alpine skiing, the arts and musical activities so as to influence the child in a broad spectrum of interests.
More than that though, he stated the family desired the tutor to enrol the child on a variety of lessons so the child would be "equestrian training and learning an tool by the time they are about three years old".
In the family's perspective, assisting their son grow into a "English gentleman" will result in achievement and open doors.
"Considering the pros and cons of that, because it's certainly a status symbol," he adds.
Yet, despite all this instruction in "English culture", would the child pick up so-called cultural influence from the international family he lives with anyway?
"Yes", answered he. "They realize this might not succeed, but they've merely embraced the view of, 'we should try and we should start as soon as we can', because the expense of it is not relevant," he explained.
Idealistic and Unrealistic
Several in the tutoring industry who share these concerns.
Peter Cui, CEO and founder of Blue Education, who supplies personal educators, stated that "the process of embracing two identities, or indeed, discovering oneself, is something that must be grown into, not engineered."
He wrote that he had relocated from the Far East to the UK at the time of seven, and had been educated experiencing and embodying both cultures. He continued to learn at a prestigious UK institution.
"The notion that one individual can function as a embodiment of Britishness, an individual who can in some way impart the attributes of a English gentleman onto a infant child, seems to me naive and unfeasible," he stated.
"Based on my background, employing a distinctly English tutor from early childhood will does not necessarily achieve the outcome they hope for.
"I did not have such a tutor, and however I have been lucky enough to live numerous 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 embraced, and it must come from within."
Buying Britishness
Naturally, English culture is something Adam believes can be instructed – and commercialized.
"In my view the situation that the global community views us in this light is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
