"A family located in the northern part of London seeks an exceptional and skilled tutor to assist their youngest child on his first steps to growing into an British gentleman."
When reading this listing, you might easily skip the term "initial stages" as simple a turn of phrase.
However, it might be the most important aspect of this distinctive job advert, as it attempts to find a teacher for a 12-month-old.
Hundreds of responses have since been submitted since the unnamed family advertised their search for the highly paid tutor, who must be "an exceptional individual".
During the past few weeks, the advert has gained notice across the press, with many asking why?
Forward-Thinking Method
The CEO, CEO and founder of an education consultancy, which is supporting the family in their hunt, explained that notwithstanding initial doubt, he viewed the idea "far sighted", and "progressive".
When he consulted the family, he mentioned they understood the atypical nature of their requirement, and how early in age their son is.
But, they stated that they "preferred not to postpone any longer" to engage a tutor, as they had postponed until their firstborn was five, and by that age "cultural conditioning had already taken hold".
But what does the family mean by "cultural predisposition"?
It's "everything", the expert answered. "The manner you eat, how you speak".
He explained the firstborn had picked up "really subtle, body language" from the family, and had assumed their cultural norms. The family told the consultant they hoped to prevent history to recur with their infant.
The plan: To engage a English tutor, who should speak with RP, to guide the baby from day one.
Subtle Influence
"A lot of the development at the start here is rather osmotic," explained Adam.
It's by means of this osmosis that the family are aiming the child will adopt the British traits they aim to instil.
Adam noted the tutor must be someone who attended "the right kinds of schools – comparable categories of schools as the family plan to send their son to".
"The educator must be the right kind of person, they'll be performing things they may not realize they're doing, just naturally," he said.
Money No Object
The family explained to the expert the chosen tutor should ideally also have familiarity of or enthusiasm in riding, skiing, artistic pursuits and music so as to inspire the child in a broad spectrum of interests.
Additionally though, he stated the family wanted the tutor to sign up the child on a selection of classes so the child would be "equestrian training and picking up an instrument by the time they are about three years old".
In the family's perspective, guiding their son become a "British gentleman" will bring about accomplishment and open doors.
"For all the rights and wrongs of that, because it's definitely a social class indicator," he comments.
But, despite all this guidance in "Britishness", could the child absorb alleged cultural bias from the international family he is raised by anyway?
"Certainly", answered Adam. "The parents realize this might not succeed, but they've simply adopted the perspective of, 'we should try and we should start as quickly as we can', because the cost of it is not a concern," he stated.
Impractical
Several in the education sector who have these doubts.
An education leader, CEO and founder of an educational organization, who provides personal educators, stated that "the journey of adopting dual cultures, or actually, discovering oneself, is something that must be lived into, not engineered."
Peter explained that he had moved from the Far East to the United Kingdom at the age of 7 years old, and had been raised experiencing and embodying both cultures. He continued to learn at Cambridge University.
"The idea that an individual can function as a living vessel of Britishness, someone who can somehow transplant the attributes of a UK sophisticate to a 12-month-old child, strikes me as optimistic and impractical," he wrote.
"In my experience, having a distinctly British tutor from babyhood will will not instantly achieve the outcome they hope for.
"I never had such a figure, and however I have been privileged enough to experience numerous of the opportunities they hope for their son."
He continued: "The fact is, self-identity should not be imposed from the external environment; it must be embraced, and it must come from within."
Purchasing UK Culture
Naturally, Britishness is something Adam believes can be instructed – and marketed.
"In my view the situation that the world holds us in this light is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
