"A household residing in north London wants to find an extraordinary and experienced tutor to assist their smallest child on his early path to becoming an British gentleman."
Upon seeing this post, you might naturally miss the phrase "beginning" as mere figurative language.
However, it may be the most significant element of this unique position posting, as it attempts to hire a teacher for a one-year-old.
Hundreds of submissions have since been received since the unidentified family advertised their call for the £180,000 per year tutor, who must be "someone very special".
In recent few weeks, the listing has attracted attention in the media, with several wondering why?
Forward-Thinking Method
A tutoring expert, CEO and founder of an education consultancy, which is assisting the family in their search, said that notwithstanding first doubt, he viewed the plan "visionary", and "innovative".
When he spoke with the family, he noted they understood the unconventional nature of their request, and how early in age their son is.
However, they stated that they "didn't want to wait any longer" to engage a tutor, as they had postponed until their older child was five, and by that point "cultural influence had by then set in".
What exactly did the family mean by "cultural predisposition"?
It's "all-encompassing", he replied. "The manner you eat, the manner you speak".
He stated the firstborn had picked up "extremely delicate, non-verbal cues" from the family, and had adopted their cultural norms. The family informed Adam they did not want the same situation to repeat itself with their infant.
The strategy: To bring in a British tutor, who needs to speak with standard English accent, to influence the baby right from the beginning.
Subtle Influence
"Much of the development at the start here is somewhat acquired indirectly," explained Adam.
It's through this natural absorption that the family are expecting the child will pick up the English characteristics they aim to impart.
The consultant noted the tutor needed to be somebody who attended "prestigious academies – comparable categories of schools as the family hope to send their son to".
"The tutor just has to be the right kind of person, they'll be carrying out things they aren't even aware they're doing, just naturally," he added.
Cost Not Relevant
The family explained to the expert the successful candidate should ideally also have understanding of or passion in riding, skiing, creative fields and instrumental training so as to shape the child in a diverse set of passions.
More than that though, he stated the family desired the tutor to register the child on a range of classes so the child would be "equestrian training and picking up an tool by the time they are around three years old".
In the family's perspective, helping their son become a "UK sophisticate" will result in accomplishment and provide access.
"For all the advantages and disadvantages of that, because it's undoubtedly a social class indicator," he adds.
But, in spite of all this instruction in "Britishness", would the child pick up what is termed cultural bias from the multicultural family he resides with in any case?
"Certainly", answered Adam. "They understand this could fail, but they've just taken the view of, 'we should try and we should start as quickly as we can', because the cost of it is not a concern," he said.
Overly Optimistic
Several in the private teaching field who express those reservations.
An education leader, chief executive of Blue Education, who provides individual instructors, stated that "the process of becoming bicultural, or actually, becoming oneself, is something that must be lived into, not designed."
The expert explained that he had moved from Asia to the UK at the time of 7 years old, and had been brought up knowing and embodying two backgrounds. He continued to study at a prestigious UK institution.
"The concept that an individual can act as a representation of UK identity, someone who can in some way transfer the qualities of a British gentleman to a one-year-old child, seems to me optimistic and unfeasible," he commented.
"From my perspective, employing a distinctly UK tutor from infancy will not instantly produce the result they desire.
"I did not have such a figure, and nevertheless I have been fortunate enough to live many of the experiences they hope for their son."
He stated: "The fact is, self-identity should not be imposed from the outside influences; it must be chosen, and it must be internally driven."
Acquiring Englishness
Naturally, Britishness is something the CEO thinks can be educated – and marketed.
"I believe the situation that the global community holds us in this regard is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
