"A household located in the northern part of London is looking for an remarkable and skilled instructor to assist their youngest child on his early path to becoming an British gentleman."
When reading this advertisement, you might readily skip the phrase "first-steps" as mere figurative language.
But, it may be the crucial part of this distinctive position posting, as it seeks to hire a tutor for a infant.
Hundreds of responses have now been received since the unidentified family posted their call for the £180k-a-year tutor, who needs to be "someone very special".
During the past few weeks, the advert has received notice throughout the media, with several asking why?
Progressive Approach
The CEO, head and founder of an education consultancy, which is helping the family in their hunt, said that notwithstanding early scepticism, he considered the plan "forward-looking", and "advanced".
When he met the family, he noted they appreciated the unusual nature of their requirement, and how young their son is.
However, they clarified that they "preferred not to postpone any longer" to hire a tutor, as they had postponed until their elder sibling was five, and by that age "cultural bias had already become established".
What precisely does the family indicate by "cultural predisposition"?
It's "everything", he replied. "The way you eat, how you speak".
He explained the firstborn had picked up "extremely delicate, unspoken signals" from the family, and had adopted their cultural ways. The family explained to him they did not want the same situation to happen again with their new baby.
The plan: To engage a British tutor, who must speak with RP, to shape the baby from the very start.
Subtle Influence
"A great deal of the education at the beginning here is kind of acquired indirectly," stated the CEO.
It's through this subtle influence that the family are expecting the child will acquire the British traits they wish to instil.
The consultant said the tutor had to be someone who studied at "prestigious academies – the same kinds of schools as the family aspire to send their son to".
"The educator simply needs to be the right kind of person, they'll be doing things they don't even know they're doing, effortlessly," he said.
Expense Not a Factor
The family told the expert the selected educator should ideally also have understanding of or interest in equestrian activities, skiing, artistic pursuits and instrumental training so as to inspire the child in a diverse set of passions.
More than that though, he explained the family hoped the tutor to enrol the child on a variety of classes so the child would be "horseback riding and learning an musical instrument by the time they are approximately three years old".
In the family's view, assisting their son develop into a "UK sophisticate" will bring about success and create opportunities.
"For all the rights and wrongs of that, because it's undoubtedly a class statement," he comments.
However, notwithstanding all this tutelage in "Britishness", would the child absorb so-called cultural bias from the multicultural family he resides with regardless?
"Certainly", replied Adam. "The parents understand this may not work, but they've just taken the attitude of, 'let's give it a go and we'll proceed as soon as we can', because the cost of it is irrelevant," he stated.
Overly Optimistic
Several in the private teaching field who express these doubts.
An education leader, head and founder of Blue Education, who provides personal educators, wrote that "the development of adopting dual cultures, or in fact, forming one's identity, is something that must be lived into, not engineered."
Peter noted that he had relocated from China to the United Kingdom at the period of childhood, and had been raised knowing and embodying both cultures. He progressed to learn at a prestigious UK institution.
"The idea that a single person can serve as a living vessel of English culture, a person who can in some way impart the attributes of a UK sophisticate to a one-year-old child, appears idealistic and unfeasible," he wrote.
"Based on my background, engaging a distinctly UK tutor from babyhood will will not instantly produce the goal they desire.
"I did not have that kind of mentor, and yet I have been lucky enough to enjoy many of the situations they aspire for their son."
He continued: "The fact is, cultural identity should not be forced from the outside; it must be selected, and it must originate internally."
Buying Britishness
Certainly, English culture is something the expert hopes can be instructed – and marketed.
"I believe the situation that the global community regards us in this regard is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
