"Parents based in north London wants to find an remarkable and skilled instructor to support their youngest child on his initial journey to becoming an British gentleman."
Upon seeing this listing, you might easily overlook the phrase "beginning" as mere figurative language.
However, it might be the crucial element of this unusual position posting, as it seeks to find a mentor for a 12-month-old.
Numerous of applications have now been received since the anonymous family published their search for the highly paid tutor, who must be "an exceptional individual".
During the past few weeks, the listing has gained notice across the press, with several questioning why?
Progressive Approach
A tutoring expert, CEO and founder of Tutors International, which is assisting the family in their hunt, explained that in spite of early skepticism, he viewed the concept "forward-looking", and "progressive".
When he spoke with the family, he said they appreciated the unusual nature of their requirement, and how young their son is.
However, they stated that they "didn't want to wait any longer" to get a tutor, as they had waited until their older child was five, and by that point "cultural conditioning had already taken hold".
What precisely did the family refer to by "cultural predisposition"?
It's "comprehensive", he responded. "How you eat, how you speak".
He stated the firstborn had picked up "extremely delicate, unspoken signals" from the family, and had taken on their cultural habits. The family informed Adam they did not want the same situation to repeat itself with their younger child.
The intention: To engage a UK tutor, who should speak with RP, to influence the baby from the very start.
Osmotic Learning
"A great deal of the education at the start here is somewhat osmotic," explained Adam.
It's through this osmosis that the family are hoping the child will adopt the British traits they wish to instil.
He said the tutor had to be an individual who went to "prestigious academies – the same kinds of schools as the family plan to send their son to".
"The tutor simply needs to be the right kind of person, they'll be performing things they may not realize they're doing, just naturally," he added.
Cost Not Relevant
The family informed Adam the successful candidate should ideally also have knowledge of or interest in equestrian activities, alpine skiing, the arts and musical activities so as to inspire the child in a wide range of passions.
Additionally though, he said the family wanted the tutor to sign up the child on a variety of lessons so the child would be "pony-riding and starting an musical instrument by the time they are about three years old".
In the family's minds, guiding their son become a "UK sophisticate" will bring about accomplishment and open doors.
"Taking into account the advantages and disadvantages of that, because it's definitely a class statement," he adds.
But, despite all this guidance in "Britishness", might the child absorb alleged cultural bias from the globally influenced family he is raised by in any case?
"Absolutely", answered Adam. "The family know this might not succeed, but they've merely embraced the attitude of, 'let's give it a go and let's go as soon as we can', because the cost of it is irrelevant," he explained.
Idealistic and Unrealistic
Several in the education sector who have these reservations.
Another CEO, CEO and founder of Blue Education, who also offer private tutors, commented that "the process of becoming bicultural, or actually, becoming oneself, is something that must be experienced personally, not manufactured."
He explained that he had relocated from the Far East to the UK at the age of seven, and had been raised experiencing and practicing two backgrounds. He progressed to study at Cambridge University.
"The concept that a single person can serve as a embodiment of Britishness, an individual who can somehow impart the qualities of a English gentleman upon a 12-month-old child, strikes me as idealistic and unrealistic," he stated.
"From my perspective, employing a quintessentially English tutor from early childhood will not automatically produce the goal they hope for.
"I did not have such a figure, and nevertheless I have been privileged enough to experience many of the situations they hope for their son."
He continued: "The reality is, cultural identity should not be dictated from the outside; it must be selected, and it must come from within."
Buying Britishness
Of course, UK identity is something the CEO hopes can be instructed – and commercialized.
"I believe the reality that the global community holds us in this light is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
