"A family residing in north London seeks an exceptional and skilled educator to support their most junior child on his first steps to turning into an English gentleman."
When reading this post, you might easily skip the wording "first-steps" as just a turn of phrase.
However, it may be the crucial aspect of this unique job advert, as it attempts to find a tutor for a infant.
Hundreds of submissions have now been sent in since the unidentified family posted their request for the highly paid tutor, who has to be "a uniquely qualified person".
During the past few weeks, the advert has attracted attention throughout the press, with several wondering why?
Forward-Thinking Method
A tutoring expert, CEO and founder of an education consultancy, which is helping the family in their quest, explained that in spite of early scepticism, he viewed the plan "far sighted", and "advanced".
When he met the family, he noted they recognized the unconventional aspect of their request, and how early in age their son is.
Nevertheless, they clarified that they "were unwilling to delay any longer" to get a tutor, as they had postponed until their older child was five, and by that point "cultural conditioning had already taken hold".
What exactly did the family refer to by "cultural leaning"?
It's "everything", he responded. "The way you eat, the manner you speak".
He explained the firstborn had adopted "really subtle, non-verbal cues" from the family, and had adopted their cultural habits. The family told him they wished to avoid history to happen again with their new baby.
The intention: To bring in a UK tutor, who needs to speak with Received Pronunciation, to shape the baby right from the beginning.
Subtle Influence
"A lot of the learning at the beginning here is rather osmotic," stated Adam.
It's via this osmosis that the family are expecting the child will adopt the British traits they want to impart.
Adam noted the tutor must be an individual who went to "the appropriate educational institutions – comparable categories of schools as the family plan to send their son to".
"The educator simply needs to be the appropriate candidate, they'll be carrying out things they don't even know they're doing, simply by nature," he added.
Expense Not a Factor
The family told him the successful candidate should ideally also have knowledge of or enthusiasm in equestrian activities, winter sports, creative fields and musical activities so as to shape the child in a broad spectrum of interests.
More than that though, he said the family desired the tutor to sign up the child on a variety of courses so the child would be "pony-riding and picking up an instrument by the time they are about three years old".
In the family's minds, helping their son grow into a "English gentleman" will result in success and provide access.
"Taking into account the pros and cons of that, because it's undoubtedly a status symbol," he notes.
Yet, despite all this instruction in "English culture", might the child adopt what is termed cultural leaning from the multicultural family he lives with regardless?
"Yes", said Adam. "The family understand this might not succeed, but they've merely embraced the attitude 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
A number of in the private teaching field who share similar reservations.
Another CEO, CEO and founder of Blue Education, who also offer private tutors, wrote that "the development of becoming bicultural, or in fact, becoming oneself, is something that must be experienced personally, not designed."
He wrote that he had emigrated from Asia to the Britain at the age of 7 years old, and had been educated experiencing and living both cultures. He went on to learn at Cambridge University.
"The concept that a single person can function as a living vessel of UK identity, an individual who can somehow transfer the characteristics of a UK sophisticate upon a one-year-old child, strikes me as optimistic and impractical," he commented.
"Based on my background, having a quintessentially UK tutor from infancy will will not instantly achieve the result they desire.
"I did not have such a figure, and however I have been privileged enough to live many of the opportunities they desire for their son."
He stated: "The reality is, personal identity can not be dictated from the outside influences; it must be selected, and it must be internally driven."
Acquiring Englishness
Naturally, UK identity is something the CEO hopes can be taught – and sold.
"In my view the fact that the global community regards us in this respect is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
