"A household residing in the northern part of London wants to find an extraordinary and experienced instructor to guide their youngest child on his initial journey to turning into an English gentleman."
Upon seeing this listing, you might easily skip the phrase "beginning" as mere an expression.
However, it might be the most important aspect of this distinctive position posting, as it aims to hire a tutor for a one-year-old.
Many of applications have since been received since the anonymous family posted their call for the £180k-a-year tutor, who needs to be "an exceptional individual".
Over the last few weeks, the advert has attracted interest across the media, with several questioning why?
Forward-Thinking Method
The CEO, CEO and founder of an education consultancy, which is helping the family in their hunt, stated that notwithstanding initial scepticism, he found the idea "forward-looking", and "innovative".
When he met the family, he noted they understood the unusual nature of their demand, and how early in age their son is.
Nevertheless, they clarified that they "didn't want to wait any longer" to engage a tutor, as they had waited until their older child was five, and by that stage "cultural bias had already become established".
What exactly did the family mean by "cultural leaning"?
It's "all-encompassing", Adam answered. "The way you eat, how you speak".
He stated the elder child had picked up "very nuanced, non-verbal cues" from the family, and had taken on their cultural habits. The family explained to the consultant they hoped to prevent history to recur with their younger child.
The strategy: To bring in a English tutor, who must speak with Received Pronunciation, to influence the baby from the very start.
Natural Absorption
"Much of the education at the beginning here is kind of acquired indirectly," stated Adam.
It's by means of this subtle influence that the family are aiming the child will adopt the British traits they aim to cultivate.
The consultant noted the tutor had to be somebody who went to "the appropriate educational institutions – the same kinds of schools as the family hope to send their son to".
"The tutor just has to be the appropriate candidate, they'll be performing things they may not realize they're doing, simply by nature," he said.
Money No Object
The family explained to Adam the chosen tutor should ideally also have understanding of or passion in horse riding, skiing, the arts and instrumental training so as to influence the child in a broad spectrum of passions.
Additionally though, he stated the family desired the tutor to register the child on a variety of courses so the child would be "equestrian training and learning an tool by the time they are approximately three years old".
In the family's view, assisting their son become a "British gentleman" will result in achievement and create opportunities.
"Considering the pros and cons of that, because it's certainly a class statement," he comments.
But, despite all this tutelage in "UK identity", might the child adopt what is termed cultural leaning from the international family he lives with anyway?
"Certainly", answered he. "The parents know this could fail, but they've merely embraced the perspective of, 'why not attempt it and let's go as early as we can', because the cost of it is not relevant," he explained.
Overly Optimistic
There are some in the education sector who share similar reservations.
Another CEO, chief executive of a tutoring service, who also offer private tutors, commented that "the journey of becoming bicultural, or actually, forming one's identity, is something that must be grown into, not engineered."
Peter explained that he had moved from China to the United Kingdom at the period of seven, and had been educated experiencing and embodying dual heritages. He went on to learn at the University of Cambridge.
"The concept that one individual can act as a living vessel of UK identity, an individual who can somehow transfer the characteristics of a English gentleman to a 12-month-old child, appears idealistic and unrealistic," he wrote.
"From my perspective, having a distinctly English tutor from infancy will will not automatically create the goal they want.
"I never had that kind of mentor, and yet I have been lucky enough to live numerous of the opportunities they hope for their son."
He continued: "The fact is, self-identity can not be imposed from the outside; it must be chosen, and it must come from within."
Acquiring Englishness
Certainly, Britishness is something the CEO believes can be taught – and marketed.
"In my view the situation that the world holds us in this regard is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
