"A household located in North London wants to find an exceptional and qualified educator to guide their most junior child on his first steps to becoming an English gentleman."
When reading this post, you might readily miss the term "first-steps" as mere figurative language.
However, it could be the most significant aspect of this distinctive job advert, as it aims to recruit a teacher for a one-year-old.
Numerous of applications have already been received since the unidentified family published their call for the highly paid tutor, who has to be "an exceptional individual".
In recent few weeks, the listing has attracted interest throughout the press, with many asking why?
Progressive Approach
A tutoring expert, chief executive of Tutors International, which is supporting the family in their search, stated that notwithstanding first scepticism, he found the concept "forward-looking", and "advanced".
When he spoke with the family, he noted they understood the unconventional character of their request, and how young their son is.
Nevertheless, they stated 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 influence had by then set in".
But what does the family mean by "cultural predisposition"?
It's "everything", he responded. "The way you eat, how you speak".
He said the older sibling had adopted "really subtle, body language" from the family, and had adopted their cultural habits. The family explained to Adam they did not want the same situation to recur with their infant.
The intention: To bring in a UK tutor, who must speak with RP, to guide the baby right from the beginning.
Natural Absorption
"Much of the education at the outset here is rather acquired indirectly," explained the expert.
It's through this osmosis that the family are expecting the child will adopt the UK customs they aim to cultivate.
He said the tutor had to be someone who studied at "the right kinds of schools – similar types of schools as the family aspire to send their son to".
"The educator just has to be the appropriate candidate, they'll be carrying out things they aren't even aware they're doing, just naturally," he added.
Expense Not a Factor
The family told Adam the successful candidate should ideally also have knowledge of or enthusiasm in equestrian activities, winter sports, the arts and instrumental training so as to inspire the child in a broad spectrum of interests.
More than that though, he explained the family desired the tutor to register the child on a selection of classes so the child would be "pony-riding and learning an musical instrument by the time they are about three years old".
In the family's perspective, helping their son grow into a "English gentleman" will lead to achievement and create opportunities.
"Taking into account the advantages and disadvantages of that, because it's definitely a class statement," he comments.
However, notwithstanding all this guidance in "English culture", could the child absorb so-called cultural influence from the multicultural family he lives with regardless?
"Absolutely", replied he. "They understand this could fail, but they've simply adopted the view of, 'let's give it a go and we should start as quickly as we can', because the cost of it is irrelevant," he stated.
Overly Optimistic
Several in the education sector who have those concerns.
Another CEO, chief executive of Blue Education, who also offer personal educators, stated that "the process of becoming bicultural, or in fact, becoming oneself, is something that must be experienced personally, not manufactured."
The expert noted that he had moved from China to the Britain at the age of seven, and had been brought up experiencing and practicing dual heritages. He continued to be educated at Cambridge University.
"The idea that an individual can act as a living vessel of English culture, a person who can possibly transplant the characteristics of a English gentleman onto a infant child, appears naive and unrealistic," he wrote.
"Based on my background, having a quintessentially British tutor from early childhood will will not instantly produce the goal they hope for.
"I never had that kind of mentor, and however I have been fortunate enough to experience numerous of the situations they desire for their son."
He stated: "The fact is, personal identity should not be imposed from the external environment; it must be selected, and it must originate internally."
Buying Britishness
Of course, English culture is something the expert believes can be instructed – and commercialized.
"I think the situation that the global community holds us in this regard is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
