"A family based in North London seeks an extraordinary and experienced instructor to support their smallest child on his initial journey to becoming an British gentleman."
When reading this advertisement, you might naturally skip the phrase "initial stages" as mere a turn of phrase.
However, it may be the crucial aspect of this unique position posting, as it attempts to find a teacher for a one-year-old.
Numerous of submissions have now been received since the anonymous family posted their search for the £180,000 per year tutor, who has to be "an exceptional individual".
Over the last few weeks, the post has attracted attention in the press, with several wondering why?
Forward-Thinking Method
A tutoring expert, chief executive of a global tutoring firm, which is assisting the family in their search, said that notwithstanding initial scepticism, he viewed the idea "far sighted", and "advanced".
When he met the family, he mentioned they understood the atypical nature of their demand, and how early in age their son is.
However, they stated that they "didn't want to wait any longer" to engage a tutor, as they had waited until their firstborn was five, and by that point "cultural conditioning had already become established".
What precisely does the family refer to by "cultural predisposition"?
It's "comprehensive", Adam responded. "How you eat, how you speak".
He stated the elder child had adopted "extremely delicate, unspoken signals" from the family, and had taken on their cultural norms. The family informed Adam they did not want this pattern to happen again with their infant.
The strategy: To bring in a English tutor, who needs to speak with RP, to influence the baby right from the beginning.
Natural Absorption
"A great deal of the development at the beginning here is somewhat absorbed naturally," explained the expert.
It's via this osmosis that the family are hoping the child will acquire the UK customs they wish to impart.
He explained the tutor needed to be somebody who went to "the right kinds of schools – similar types of schools as the family aspire to send their son to".
"The educator simply needs to be the right kind of person, they'll be performing things they may not realize they're doing, simply by nature," he commented.
Cost Not Relevant
The family informed Adam the chosen tutor should ideally also have knowledge of or interest in horse riding, winter sports, the arts and instrumental training so as to shape the child in a diverse set of passions.
Furthermore though, he said the family desired the tutor to register the child on a range of courses so the child would be "pony-riding and learning an instrument by the time they are approximately three years old".
In the family's minds, guiding their son grow into a "British gentleman" will bring about success and create opportunities.
"For all the pros and cons of that, because it's certainly a status symbol," he notes.
But, in spite of all this guidance in "UK identity", could the child absorb alleged cultural bias from the multicultural family he lives with in any case?
"Yes", answered Adam. "The family know this might not succeed, but they've merely embraced the view of, 'let's give it a go and we should start as early as we can', because the price of it is not relevant," he explained.
Impractical
There are some in the private teaching field who share those concerns.
Another CEO, chief executive of an educational organization, who provides personal educators, commented that "the journey of adopting dual cultures, or indeed, discovering oneself, is something that must be grown into, not engineered."
The expert explained that he had moved from China to the Britain at the period of 7 years old, and had been raised understanding and embodying two backgrounds. He continued to study at the University of Cambridge.
"The notion that an individual can act as a representation of UK identity, an individual who can somehow transfer the attributes of a UK sophisticate onto a one-year-old child, seems to me idealistic and unrealistic," he stated.
"In my experience, employing a quintessentially English tutor from early childhood will not automatically create the result they want.
"I wasn't provided with such a tutor, and however I have been lucky enough to enjoy many of the opportunities they desire for their son."
He continued: "The reality is, personal identity cannot be imposed from the outside; it must be embraced, and it must come from within."
Purchasing UK Culture
Naturally, Britishness is something the CEO thinks can be taught – and marketed.
"I believe the fact that the global community views us in this regard is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
