"A family located in North London wants to find an extraordinary and experienced instructor to guide their youngest child on his first steps to becoming an English gentleman."
Upon seeing this listing, you might readily miss the wording "initial stages" as just an expression.
Yet, it may be the most important aspect of this distinctive employment listing, as it aims to recruit a tutor for a 12-month-old.
Hundreds of applications have since been submitted since the unnamed family posted their request for the £180k-a-year tutor, who has to be "an exceptional individual".
Over the last few weeks, the post has received notice throughout the media, with numerous wondering why?
Forward-Thinking Method
The CEO, CEO and founder of a global tutoring firm, which is supporting the family in their search, stated that notwithstanding early doubt, he found the concept "far sighted", and "advanced".
When he met the family, he noted they appreciated the atypical aspect of their request, and how young their son is.
Nevertheless, they clarified that they "were unwilling to delay any longer" to get a tutor, as they had postponed until their elder sibling was five, and by that age "cultural conditioning had already set in".
What exactly does the family indicate by "cultural leaning"?
It's "all-encompassing", he replied. "How you eat, the way you speak".
He explained the elder child had adopted "extremely delicate, body language" from the family, and had adopted their cultural ways. The family explained to him they did not want this pattern to repeat itself with their new baby.
The intention: To hire a English tutor, who must speak with RP, to influence the baby right from the beginning.
Osmotic Learning
"A lot of the learning at the beginning here is kind of osmotic," explained the CEO.
It's by means of this natural absorption that the family are hoping the child will pick up the English characteristics they wish to cultivate.
Adam noted the tutor needed to be an individual who attended "prestigious academies – similar types of schools as the family hope to send their son to".
"The tutor must be the suitable individual, they'll be doing things they aren't even aware they're doing, simply by nature," he added.
Cost Not Relevant
The family informed him the selected educator should ideally also have understanding of or enthusiasm in riding, skiing, creative fields and musical activities so as to influence the child in a diverse set of hobbies.
Furthermore though, he explained the family desired the tutor to enrol the child on a range of classes so the child would be "horseback riding and learning an musical instrument by the time they are approximately three years old".
In the family's minds, guiding their son grow into a "UK sophisticate" will lead to achievement and open doors.
"Considering the rights and wrongs of that, because it's definitely a class statement," he comments.
But, in spite of all this instruction in "English culture", might the child absorb alleged cultural leaning from the multicultural family he resides with anyway?
"Certainly", replied Adam. "They realize this might not succeed, but they've simply adopted the attitude of, 'we should try and we should start as quickly as we can', because the price of it is not relevant," he said.
Idealistic and Unrealistic
A number of in the education sector who have those concerns.
Peter Cui, head and founder of an educational organization, who supplies private tutors, wrote that "the development of adopting dual cultures, or actually, becoming oneself, is something that must be grown into, not manufactured."
Peter noted that he had relocated from Asia to the Britain at the time of childhood, and had been educated experiencing and living two backgrounds. He went on to be educated at Cambridge University.
"The concept that one individual can act as a living vessel of Britishness, an individual who can somehow transfer the qualities of a English gentleman onto a infant child, strikes me as naive and unrealistic," he commented.
"Based on my background, having a quintessentially British tutor from infancy will will not instantly create the goal they want.
"I never had such a figure, and however I have been lucky enough to enjoy many of the experiences they aspire for their son."
He added: "The reality is, cultural identity cannot be forced from the outside influences; it must be embraced, and it must be internally driven."
Acquiring Englishness
Certainly, English culture is something Adam thinks can be educated – and sold.
"I think the reality that the global community views us in this respect is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
