"A household based in North London wants to find an exceptional and experienced educator to guide their youngest child on his first steps to turning into an English gentleman."
When reading this advertisement, you might readily overlook the term "initial stages" as mere an expression.
But, it could be the most significant aspect of this unusual position posting, as it aims to find a teacher for a 12-month-old.
Hundreds of responses have now been received since the unidentified family published their request for the highly paid tutor, who has to be "an exceptional individual".
Over the last few weeks, the advert has gained attention across the media, with numerous questioning why?
Forward-Thinking Method
A tutoring expert, head and founder of an education consultancy, which is helping the family in their quest, stated that despite initial doubt, he found the concept "visionary", and "innovative".
When he spoke with the family, he mentioned they understood the unusual character of their demand, and how immature their son is.
However, they stated that they "preferred not to postpone any longer" to engage a tutor, as they had waited until their elder sibling was five, and by that point "cultural influence had already set in".
But what does the family refer to by "cultural bias"?
It's "comprehensive", he responded. "How you eat, the way you speak".
He explained the older sibling had adopted "extremely delicate, unspoken signals" from the family, and had taken on their cultural habits. The family explained to him they hoped to prevent history to recur with their new baby.
The intention: To engage a UK tutor, who should speak with Received Pronunciation, to shape the baby from day one.
Osmotic Learning
"Much of the development at the beginning here is kind of osmotic," stated Adam.
It's through this natural absorption that the family are hoping the child will adopt the UK customs they want to instil.
Adam noted the tutor had to be someone who attended "prestigious academies – similar types of schools as the family plan to send their son to".
"The tutor simply needs to be the appropriate candidate, they'll be carrying out things they may not realize they're doing, simply by nature," he added.
Expense Not a Factor
The family informed him the chosen tutor should ideally also have familiarity of or enthusiasm in equestrian activities, skiing, artistic pursuits and instrumental training so as to inspire the child in a wide range of passions.
More than that though, he stated the family hoped the tutor to register the child on a selection of courses so the child would be "horseback riding and learning an tool by the time they are approximately three years old".
In the family's view, assisting their son develop into a "UK sophisticate" will bring about achievement and create opportunities.
"Taking into account the rights and wrongs of that, because it's certainly a status symbol," he adds.
But, notwithstanding all this instruction in "English culture", would the child pick up so-called cultural leaning from the multicultural family he resides with in any case?
"Certainly", answered he. "They realize this may not work, but they've simply adopted the perspective of, 'we should try and we'll proceed as soon as we can', because the expense of it is not relevant," he stated.
Impractical
Several in the private teaching field who share those concerns.
Peter Cui, head and founder of Blue Education, who also offer private tutors, wrote that "the process of adopting dual cultures, or actually, discovering oneself, is something that must be lived into, not designed."
He explained that he had emigrated from Asia to the Britain at the period of childhood, and had been educated understanding and embodying both cultures. He continued to study at the University of Cambridge.
"The idea that a single person can serve as a embodiment of Britishness, someone who can in some way impart the characteristics of a British gentleman to a one-year-old child, appears optimistic and unfeasible," he stated.
"From my perspective, engaging a typically British tutor from babyhood will will not automatically achieve the outcome they desire.
"I never had such a figure, and however I have been privileged enough to enjoy numerous of the experiences they aspire for their son."
He added: "The reality is, cultural identity cannot be dictated from the external environment; it must be selected, and it must come from within."
Purchasing UK Culture
Of course, English culture is something the CEO believes can be instructed – and sold.
"In my view the reality that the global community holds us in this regard is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
