"A household residing in North London seeks an remarkable and experienced tutor to support their smallest child on his initial journey to turning into an English gentleman."
Upon seeing this post, you might easily overlook the wording "beginning" as simple figurative language.
But, it may be the most important element of this unusual job advert, as it aims to find a mentor for a 12-month-old.
Numerous of applications have already been sent in since the unnamed family advertised their call for the £180,000 per year tutor, who must be "someone very special".
Over the last few weeks, the listing has attracted notice across the news, with several questioning why?
Innovative Idea
The CEO, head and founder of an education consultancy, which is assisting the family in their quest, said that in spite of early skepticism, he viewed the concept "far sighted", and "innovative".
When he consulted the family, he mentioned they understood the unusual aspect of their requirement, and how young their son is.
But, they explained that they "didn't want to wait any longer" to get a tutor, as they had postponed until their elder sibling was five, and by that point "cultural influence had already taken hold".
But what does the family mean by "cultural predisposition"?
It's "comprehensive", he replied. "The way you eat, the manner you speak".
He said the elder child had picked up "very nuanced, non-verbal cues" from the family, and had assumed their cultural habits. The family informed Adam they did not want history to happen again with their infant.
The intention: To engage a UK tutor, who needs to speak with Received Pronunciation, to guide the baby right from the beginning.
Osmotic Learning
"A great deal of the education at the beginning here is kind of osmotic," explained Adam.
It's via this subtle influence that the family are aiming the child will pick up the UK customs they wish to impart.
He noted the tutor had to be someone who studied at "the right kinds of schools – similar types of schools as the family plan to send their son to".
"The instructor must be the appropriate candidate, they'll be performing things they may not realize they're doing, simply by nature," he commented.
Expense Not a Factor
The family explained to the expert the successful candidate should ideally also have knowledge of or enthusiasm in horse riding, skiing, creative fields and instrumental training so as to influence the child in a broad spectrum of passions.
Additionally though, he explained the family wanted the tutor to register the child on a variety of courses so the child would be "pony-riding and learning an tool by the time they are around three years old".
In the family's minds, helping their son develop into a "UK sophisticate" will result in success and provide access.
"For all the rights and wrongs of that, because it's certainly a status symbol," he comments.
However, in spite of all this tutelage in "English culture", might the child pick up alleged cultural leaning from the multicultural family he resides with anyway?
"Absolutely", said Adam. "The parents realize this may not work, but they've just taken the perspective of, 'let's give it a go and let's go as soon as we can', because the expense of it is not relevant," he said.
Idealistic and Unrealistic
A number of in the private teaching field who have these concerns.
Another CEO, chief executive of a tutoring service, who supplies personal educators, stated that "the journey of embracing two identities, or indeed, forming one's identity, is something that must be experienced personally, not engineered."
Peter explained that he had relocated from Asia to the UK at the age of 7 years old, and had been brought up experiencing and embodying dual heritages. He progressed to learn at the University of Cambridge.
"The idea that a single person can act as a living vessel of Britishness, someone who can possibly impart the characteristics of a UK sophisticate upon a 12-month-old child, appears optimistic and unfeasible," he stated.
"From my perspective, employing a quintessentially English tutor from early childhood will will not necessarily produce the result they hope for.
"I did not have such a tutor, and however I have been lucky enough to enjoy many of the opportunities they desire for their son."
He continued: "The reality is, self-identity should not be imposed from the external environment; it must be selected, and it must be internally driven."
Buying Britishness
Certainly, UK identity is something Adam believes can be taught – and commercialized.
"I believe the reality that the international society regards us in this regard is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
