"Parents located in North London wants to find an remarkable and qualified tutor to assist their smallest child on his first steps to turning into an English gentleman."
When reading this advertisement, you might readily miss the term "beginning" as mere an expression.
Yet, it may be the most important element of this distinctive position posting, as it aims 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 £180,000 per year tutor, who needs to be "someone very special".
During the past few weeks, the post has gained attention across the press, with many asking why?
Forward-Thinking Method
A tutoring expert, CEO and founder of Tutors International, which is helping the family in their search, explained that despite first skepticism, he considered the concept "far sighted", and "progressive".
When he spoke with the family, he noted they understood the unconventional nature of their requirement, and how young their son is.
But, they stated that they "preferred not to postpone any longer" to hire a tutor, as they had postponed until their older child was five, and by that point "cultural conditioning had already set in".
What exactly did the family refer to by "cultural bias"?
It's "all-encompassing", Adam replied. "How you eat, how you speak".
He stated the older sibling had adopted "really subtle, unspoken signals" from the family, and had taken on their cultural norms. The family informed him they wished to avoid this pattern to recur with their infant.
The plan: To bring in a English tutor, who must speak with standard English accent, to shape the baby right from the beginning.
Osmotic Learning
"A great deal of the education at the start here is rather acquired indirectly," said the CEO.
It's through this osmosis that the family are expecting the child will adopt the British traits they aim to cultivate.
The consultant explained the tutor must be an individual who went to "prestigious academies – comparable categories of schools as the family hope to send their son to".
"The tutor must be the appropriate candidate, they'll be performing things they may not realize they're doing, simply by nature," he added.
Expense Not a Factor
The family explained to him the successful candidate should ideally also have understanding of or interest in equestrian activities, alpine skiing, creative fields and instrumental training so as to inspire the child in a broad spectrum of hobbies.
Additionally though, he stated the family desired the tutor to sign up the child on a variety of courses so the child would be "pony-riding and starting an instrument by the time they are around three years old".
In the family's minds, helping their son become a "British gentleman" will result in achievement and open doors.
"For all the pros and cons of that, because it's certainly a status symbol," he notes.
However, notwithstanding all this instruction in "English culture", could the child adopt what is termed cultural leaning from the international family he is raised by in any case?
"Yes", said the CEO. "They realize this could fail, but they've merely embraced the view of, 'let's give it a go and let's go as soon as we can', because the price of it is not relevant," he explained.
Overly Optimistic
There are some in the private teaching field who share these reservations.
Another CEO, chief executive of a tutoring service, who supplies personal educators, stated that "the development of becoming bicultural, or in fact, forming one's identity, is something that must be experienced personally, not designed."
Peter noted that he had relocated from the Far East to the Britain at the age of 7 years old, and had been raised knowing and practicing dual heritages. He progressed to learn at Cambridge University.
"The idea that a single person can function as a representation of English culture, an individual who can in some way transfer the qualities of a British gentleman to a one-year-old child, strikes me as idealistic and unrealistic," he commented.
"Based on my background, employing a distinctly English tutor from babyhood will does not instantly produce the result they hope for.
"I never had such a figure, and however I have been fortunate enough to live several of the opportunities they aspire for their son."
He added: "The reality is, cultural identity should not be forced from the outside; it must be selected, and it must originate internally."
Buying Britishness
Certainly, UK identity is something the expert believes can be instructed – and sold.
"I believe the reality that the global community holds us in this respect is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating