"A family located in the northern part of London is looking for an extraordinary and qualified educator to guide their smallest child on his first steps to growing into an British gentleman."
Upon seeing this advertisement, you might readily overlook the phrase "initial stages" as just a turn of phrase.
However, it might be the most important part of this distinctive job advert, as it seeks to hire a teacher for a one-year-old.
Numerous of applications have since been sent in since the anonymous family published their call for the £180,000 per year tutor, who must be "a uniquely qualified person".
Over the last few weeks, the advert has gained attention in the press, with many asking why?
Forward-Thinking Method
A tutoring expert, head and founder of an education consultancy, which is supporting the family in their search, stated that in spite of first scepticism, he viewed the idea "visionary", and "progressive".
When he consulted the family, he said they recognized the atypical aspect of their request, and how early in age their son is.
Nevertheless, 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 age "cultural conditioning had by then set in".
What precisely did the family refer to by "cultural predisposition"?
It's "comprehensive", he replied. "How you eat, the manner you speak".
He said the older sibling had adopted "extremely delicate, non-verbal cues" from the family, and had assumed their cultural norms. The family told him they wished to avoid this pattern to repeat itself with their younger child.
The intention: To hire a English tutor, who needs to speak with standard English accent, to guide the baby right from the beginning.
Osmotic Learning
"Much of the development at the start here is rather acquired indirectly," explained the CEO.
It's by means of this osmosis that the family are hoping the child will pick up the British traits they want to instil.
He said the tutor must be an individual who studied at "prestigious academies – comparable categories of schools as the family hope to send their son to".
"The instructor just has to be the suitable individual, they'll be carrying out things they may not realize they're doing, effortlessly," he added.
Money No Object
The family explained to him the successful candidate should ideally also have familiarity of or enthusiasm in horse riding, skiing, artistic pursuits and instrumental training so as to influence the child in a wide range of passions.
Furthermore though, he stated the family wanted the tutor to register the child on a variety of courses so the child would be "horseback riding and picking up an instrument by the time they are around three years old".
In the family's perspective, assisting their son grow into a "UK sophisticate" will result in success and open doors.
"Taking into account the pros and cons of that, because it's definitely a class statement," he adds.
But, despite all this tutelage in "Britishness", would the child absorb alleged cultural influence from the globally influenced family he lives with regardless?
"Certainly", answered Adam. "They realize this could fail, but they've merely embraced the attitude of, 'why not attempt it and we should start as quickly as we can', because the cost of it is irrelevant," he stated.
Idealistic and Unrealistic
A number of in the tutoring industry who express similar concerns.
An education leader, CEO and founder of a tutoring service, who provides private tutors, stated that "the development of becoming bicultural, or indeed, forming one's identity, is something that must be experienced personally, not engineered."
Peter explained that he had emigrated from the Far East to the United Kingdom at the time of 7 years old, and had been raised understanding and living both cultures. He continued to study at Cambridge University.
"The notion that one individual can function as a embodiment of Britishness, an individual who can in some way transplant the characteristics of a British gentleman onto a one-year-old child, strikes me as idealistic and impractical," he wrote.
"Based on my background, having a quintessentially UK tutor from babyhood will does not instantly produce the goal they want.
"I never had that kind of mentor, and however I have been privileged enough to experience several of the situations they desire for their son."
He added: "The fact is, cultural identity cannot be imposed from the external environment; it must be embraced, and it must be internally driven."
Buying Britishness
Naturally, Britishness is something Adam thinks can be educated – and marketed.
"In my view the reality that the global community views us in this light is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
