"A family based in north London wants to find an remarkable and skilled instructor to assist their youngest child on his early path to growing into an English gentleman."
When reading this listing, you might easily overlook the term "initial stages" as just figurative language.
Yet, it may be the most important element of this unique position posting, as it aims to hire a mentor for a infant.
Hundreds of responses have already been sent in since the unidentified family published their request for the £180k-a-year tutor, who has to be "a uniquely qualified person".
In recent few weeks, the listing has gained attention across the media, with several questioning why?
Innovative Idea
The CEO, head and founder of Tutors International, which is helping the family in their hunt, said that notwithstanding early skepticism, he found the concept "forward-looking", and "progressive".
When he met the family, he noted they recognized the atypical character of their request, and how early in age their son is.
But, they explained that they "were unwilling to delay any longer" to hire a tutor, as they had waited until their elder sibling was five, and by that point "cultural conditioning had by then become established".
But what did the family refer to by "cultural leaning"?
It's "everything", Adam replied. "The way you eat, the way you speak".
He explained the older sibling had absorbed "very nuanced, unspoken signals" from the family, and had assumed their cultural ways. The family explained to Adam they did not want history to recur with their new baby.
The strategy: To bring in a UK tutor, who should speak with RP, to guide the baby right from the beginning.
Subtle Influence
"A lot of the development at the outset here is rather osmotic," said the expert.
It's via this subtle influence that the family are aiming the child will adopt the British traits they wish to instil.
Adam said the tutor had to be an individual who went to "prestigious academies – similar types of schools as the family hope to send their son to".
"The instructor simply needs to be the appropriate candidate, they'll be doing things they don't even know they're doing, simply by nature," he commented.
Cost Not Relevant
The family informed the expert the successful candidate should ideally also have understanding of or enthusiasm in horse riding, winter sports, artistic pursuits and instrumental training so as to influence the child in a diverse set of passions.
Furthermore though, he stated the family wanted the tutor to register the child on a variety of classes so the child would be "pony-riding and learning an tool by the time they are around three years old".
In the family's perspective, guiding their son become a "UK sophisticate" will bring about success and open doors.
"Considering the pros and cons of that, because it's definitely a social class indicator," he notes.
However, despite all this instruction in "English culture", could the child adopt so-called cultural influence from the international family he is raised by anyway?
"Yes", said the CEO. "The family know this might not succeed, but they've simply adopted the perspective of, 'let's give it a go and we should start as soon as we can', because the cost of it is irrelevant," he said.
Overly Optimistic
Several in the tutoring industry who share these concerns.
An education leader, head and founder of Blue Education, who supplies private tutors, wrote that "the development of embracing two identities, or actually, forming one's identity, is something that must be experienced personally, not designed."
Peter explained that he had emigrated from the Far East to the UK at the time of seven, and had been educated understanding and practicing two backgrounds. He continued to be educated at Cambridge University.
"The notion that a single person can serve as a living vessel of Britishness, a person who can somehow transplant the attributes of a British gentleman upon a 12-month-old child, seems to me naive and unfeasible," he commented.
"In my experience, engaging a quintessentially UK tutor from babyhood will not instantly create the result they desire.
"I wasn't provided with that kind of mentor, and yet I have been fortunate enough to live numerous of the experiences they aspire for their son."
He stated: "The fact is, personal identity can not be forced from the external environment; it must be selected, and it must originate internally."
Purchasing UK Culture
Of course, English culture is something the expert hopes can be taught – and commercialized.
"I believe the situation that the global community holds us in this regard is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
