"A household based in North London seeks an exceptional and skilled instructor to assist their most junior child on his first steps to becoming an English gentleman."
Upon seeing this post, you might readily miss the phrase "initial stages" as just an expression.
Yet, it might be the most significant part of this distinctive job advert, as it attempts to recruit a teacher for a one-year-old.
Numerous of submissions have already been submitted since the unnamed family published their request for the £180k-a-year tutor, who needs to be "a uniquely qualified person".
During the past few weeks, the advert has attracted interest in the media, with many questioning why?
Innovative Idea
The CEO, chief executive of Tutors International, which is assisting the family in their hunt, said that despite first doubt, he found the concept "forward-looking", and "advanced".
When he met the family, he said they appreciated the unusual nature of their request, and how immature their son is.
But, they stated that they "didn't want to wait any longer" to hire a tutor, as they had held off until their older child was five, and by that stage "cultural bias had by then become established".
What precisely does the family indicate by "cultural predisposition"?
It's "all-encompassing", Adam answered. "How you eat, the way you speak".
He explained the elder child had picked up "very nuanced, non-verbal cues" from the family, and had adopted their cultural ways. The family told the consultant they did not want the same situation to recur with their infant.
The strategy: To engage a British tutor, who must speak with RP, to guide the baby right from the beginning.
Natural Absorption
"Much of the development at the beginning here is kind of absorbed naturally," stated the CEO.
It's by means of this subtle influence that the family are hoping the child will pick up the British traits they want to cultivate.
The consultant explained the tutor had to be an individual who attended "the appropriate educational institutions – similar types of schools as the family aspire to send their son to".
"The instructor simply needs to be the appropriate candidate, they'll be performing things they don't even know they're doing, simply by nature," he added.
Expense Not a Factor
The family explained to him the selected educator should ideally also have familiarity of or interest in horse riding, skiing, artistic pursuits and musical activities so as to influence the child in a diverse set of interests.
More than that though, he stated the family wanted the tutor to enrol the child on a variety of classes so the child would be "pony-riding and picking up an musical instrument by the time they are around three years old".
In the family's view, assisting their son grow into a "British gentleman" will bring about success and create opportunities.
"For all the rights and wrongs of that, because it's certainly a social class indicator," he adds.
However, notwithstanding all this instruction in "UK identity", could the child adopt what is termed cultural bias from the globally influenced family he resides with in any case?
"Certainly", replied Adam. "The family know this might not succeed, but they've merely embraced the view of, 'why not attempt it and we should start as quickly as we can', because the price of it is not relevant," he stated.
Idealistic and Unrealistic
A number of in the education sector who share these concerns.
An education leader, CEO and founder of a tutoring service, who also offer personal educators, commented that "the journey of adopting dual cultures, or in fact, discovering oneself, is something that must be experienced personally, not engineered."
He explained that he had relocated from China to the Britain at the period of seven, and had been raised understanding and practicing dual heritages. He progressed to learn at a prestigious UK institution.
"The idea that a single person can function as a living vessel of UK identity, an individual who can possibly impart the attributes of a UK sophisticate to a 12-month-old child, seems to me optimistic and impractical," he commented.
"Based on my background, employing a distinctly English tutor from early childhood will not instantly achieve the goal they desire.
"I did not have such a figure, and however I have been lucky enough to experience many of the experiences they aspire for their son."
He added: "The truth is, cultural identity cannot be dictated from the outside; it must be embraced, and it must originate internally."
Buying Britishness
Certainly, English culture is something the expert hopes can be taught – and commercialized.
"In my view the situation that the world holds us in this light is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating