"A household residing in North London is looking for an exceptional and experienced educator to guide their most junior child on his early path to turning into an English gentleman."
When reading this listing, you might naturally miss the phrase "beginning" as mere an expression.
But, it may be the most significant part of this unusual position posting, as it aims to hire a tutor for a infant.
Hundreds of applications have since been sent in since the anonymous family advertised their call for the highly paid tutor, who must be "an exceptional individual".
In recent few weeks, the post has gained notice in the media, with many questioning why?
Forward-Thinking Method
The CEO, CEO and founder of a global tutoring firm, which is supporting the family in their search, said that despite early skepticism, he found the concept "forward-looking", and "progressive".
When he met the family, he said they appreciated the unconventional nature of their demand, 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 held off until their firstborn was five, and by that stage "cultural bias had already taken hold".
What exactly does the family indicate by "cultural predisposition"?
It's "comprehensive", Adam replied. "The manner you eat, the manner you speak".
He explained the older sibling had picked up "very nuanced, non-verbal cues" from the family, and had taken on their cultural norms. The family informed the consultant they wished to avoid history to recur with their younger child.
The intention: To hire a British tutor, who should speak with Received Pronunciation, to influence the baby from the very start.
Natural Absorption
"Much of the learning at the start here is kind of absorbed naturally," said the CEO.
It's through this subtle influence that the family are expecting the child will acquire the UK customs they aim to cultivate.
He noted the tutor had to be an individual who attended "the right kinds of schools – the same kinds of schools as the family hope to send their son to".
"The instructor simply needs to be the appropriate candidate, they'll be carrying out things they may not realize they're doing, effortlessly," he commented.
Expense Not a Factor
The family explained to Adam the chosen tutor should preferably also have knowledge of or interest in horse riding, skiing, artistic pursuits and instrumental training so as to inspire the child in a wide range of hobbies.
More than that though, he stated the family wanted the tutor to register the child on a range of lessons so the child would be "horseback riding and starting an musical instrument by the time they are about three years old".
In the family's view, guiding their son become a "UK sophisticate" will lead to achievement and create opportunities.
"Considering the advantages and disadvantages of that, because it's undoubtedly a status symbol," he comments.
But, in spite of all this tutelage in "Britishness", would the child adopt what is termed cultural influence from the globally influenced family he resides with regardless?
"Yes", said he. "They understand this could fail, but they've just taken the attitude of, 'why not attempt it and we should start as early as we can', because the price of it is not a concern," he said.
Overly Optimistic
Several in the tutoring industry who share those doubts.
An education leader, CEO and founder of Blue Education, who also offer individual instructors, wrote that "the journey of becoming bicultural, or in fact, forming one's identity, is something that must be grown into, not engineered."
He wrote that he had relocated from Asia to the United Kingdom at the time of seven, and had been educated understanding and practicing both cultures. He went on to learn at the University of Cambridge.
"The concept that a single person can act as a embodiment of UK identity, a person who can somehow transfer the characteristics of a English gentleman to a 12-month-old child, strikes me as idealistic and unrealistic," he commented.
"In my experience, having a distinctly UK tutor from infancy will will not instantly create the goal they hope for.
"I did not have such a tutor, and yet I have been fortunate enough to live many of the opportunities they aspire for their son."
He stated: "The truth is, self-identity cannot be forced from the external environment; it must be chosen, and it must come from within."
Buying Britishness
Certainly, UK identity is something the expert hopes can be educated – and sold.
"In my view the reality that the global community holds us in this respect is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
