"A family residing in north London is looking for an extraordinary and qualified educator to assist their smallest child on his first steps to turning into an British gentleman."
When reading this advertisement, you might easily miss the wording "initial stages" as simple an expression.
However, it could be the crucial element of this distinctive position posting, as it attempts to recruit a teacher for a one-year-old.
Numerous of submissions have since been received since the anonymous family published their call for the £180,000 per year tutor, who has to be "a uniquely qualified person".
In recent few weeks, the advert has attracted notice across the media, with several wondering why?
Innovative Idea
A tutoring expert, chief executive of an education consultancy, which is assisting the family in their hunt, explained that notwithstanding initial doubt, he found the idea "visionary", and "advanced".
When he spoke with the family, he said they appreciated the atypical nature of their request, and how young their son is.
Nevertheless, they clarified that they "didn't want to wait any longer" to hire a tutor, as they had postponed until their older child was five, and by that stage "cultural bias had already set in".
What exactly did the family indicate by "cultural bias"?
It's "all-encompassing", he responded. "How you eat, the manner you speak".
He said the firstborn had picked up "extremely delicate, non-verbal cues" from the family, and had assumed their cultural habits. The family told Adam they did not want this pattern to repeat itself with their infant.
The intention: To hire a UK tutor, who should speak with standard English accent, to influence the baby right from the beginning.
Subtle Influence
"A great deal of the development at the start here is rather acquired indirectly," said the CEO.
It's through this natural absorption that the family are expecting the child will acquire the UK customs they wish to cultivate.
Adam said the tutor must be an individual who attended "the right kinds of schools – comparable categories of schools as the family hope to send their son to".
"The instructor just has to be the appropriate candidate, they'll be doing 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 understanding of or interest in horse riding, skiing, artistic pursuits and musical activities so as to shape the child in a wide range of passions.
Furthermore though, he said the family wanted the tutor to enrol the child on a range of classes so the child would be "horseback riding and picking up an tool by the time they are approximately three years old".
In the family's minds, guiding their son grow into a "UK sophisticate" will result in accomplishment and open doors.
"Taking into account the advantages and disadvantages of that, because it's undoubtedly a class statement," he adds.
However, despite all this guidance in "Britishness", might the child adopt so-called cultural leaning from the multicultural family he lives with regardless?
"Absolutely", replied the CEO. "The parents know this may not work, but they've simply adopted the perspective of, 'why not attempt it and let's go as soon as we can', because the price of it is irrelevant," he stated.
Impractical
There are some in the tutoring industry who have similar doubts.
Another CEO, CEO and founder of Blue Education, who also offer personal educators, stated that "the journey of embracing two identities, or actually, forming one's identity, is something that must be lived into, not manufactured."
Peter noted that he had moved from the Far East to the UK at the age of seven, and had been educated experiencing and practicing dual heritages. He went on to study at the University of Cambridge.
"The idea that an individual can serve as a living vessel of Britishness, an individual who can possibly impart the qualities of a UK sophisticate onto a 12-month-old child, strikes me as naive and unfeasible," he stated.
"From my perspective, having a distinctly English tutor from babyhood will not automatically achieve the outcome they hope for.
"I wasn't provided with that kind of mentor, and however I have been lucky enough to live several of the experiences they desire for their son."
He added: "The fact is, self-identity cannot be imposed from the outside; it must be selected, and it must come from within."
Purchasing UK Culture
Of course, Britishness is something the expert thinks can be instructed – and sold.
"I believe the reality that the world views us in this light is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
