"Parents located in north London is looking for an exceptional and skilled educator to support their smallest child on his initial journey to becoming an British gentleman."
When reading this listing, you might readily miss the wording "beginning" as mere figurative language.
However, it might be the most significant aspect of this unusual employment listing, as it aims to hire a tutor for a one-year-old.
Many of responses have already been submitted since the unidentified family posted their request for the highly paid tutor, who has to be "someone very special".
During the past few weeks, the post has attracted attention throughout the media, with many wondering why?
Innovative Idea
The CEO, head and founder of an education consultancy, which is helping the family in their hunt, stated that notwithstanding initial skepticism, he considered the concept "far sighted", and "advanced".
When he met the family, he mentioned they recognized the unusual nature of their request, and how young their son is.
Nevertheless, they clarified that they "didn't want to wait any longer" to hire a tutor, as they had held off until their elder sibling was five, and by that stage "cultural bias had already set in".
What exactly did the family refer to by "cultural bias"?
It's "comprehensive", the expert responded. "How you eat, how you speak".
He said the elder child had picked up "really subtle, unspoken signals" from the family, and had adopted their cultural norms. The family told the consultant they did not want the same situation to recur with their infant.
The strategy: To bring in a British tutor, who must speak with Received Pronunciation, to guide the baby right from the beginning.
Natural Absorption
"A lot of the development at the outset here is rather absorbed naturally," stated the expert.
It's through this natural absorption that the family are hoping the child will adopt the English characteristics they want to impart.
Adam said the tutor must be an individual who attended "the right kinds of schools – the same kinds of schools as the family aspire to send their son to".
"The educator just has to be the appropriate candidate, they'll be performing things they don't even know they're doing, simply by nature," he said.
Money No Object
The family explained to Adam the successful candidate should ideally also have familiarity of or passion in equestrian activities, alpine skiing, creative fields and instrumental training so as to inspire the child in a diverse set of interests.
Furthermore though, he stated the family hoped the tutor to enrol the child on a selection of lessons so the child would be "horseback riding and picking up an instrument by the time they are approximately three years old".
In the family's view, assisting their son develop into a "English gentleman" will lead to success and provide access.
"Considering the pros and cons of that, because it's certainly a social class indicator," he adds.
However, despite all this guidance in "UK identity", would the child absorb so-called cultural influence from the international family he resides with in any case?
"Certainly", said Adam. "They understand this may not work, but they've just taken the perspective of, 'why not attempt it and let's go as soon as we can', because the cost of it is not relevant," he explained.
Overly Optimistic
Several in the tutoring industry who share those concerns.
Peter Cui, CEO and founder of a tutoring service, who provides personal educators, commented that "the journey of adopting dual cultures, or actually, forming one's identity, is something that must be grown into, not engineered."
The expert explained that he had emigrated from the Far East to the Britain at the period of 7 years old, and had been raised understanding and embodying both cultures. He progressed to study at the University of Cambridge.
"The idea that an individual can act as a embodiment of Britishness, a person who can possibly transfer the attributes of a UK sophisticate to a one-year-old child, seems to me idealistic and impractical," he stated.
"From my perspective, engaging a distinctly English tutor from infancy will does not necessarily create the outcome they desire.
"I wasn't provided with such a figure, and however I have been privileged enough to live many of the situations they aspire for their son."
He stated: "The truth is, self-identity cannot be imposed from the outside; it must be selected, and it must come from within."
Buying Britishness
Certainly, UK identity is something the CEO hopes can be taught – and commercialized.
"In my view the situation that the global community holds us in this regard is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
