"A family based in north London seeks an extraordinary and skilled instructor to guide their most junior child on his early path to becoming an British gentleman."
Upon seeing this listing, you might readily miss the wording "beginning" as mere figurative language.
Yet, it might be the most significant aspect of this unique position posting, as it attempts to recruit a mentor for a one-year-old.
Many of applications have already been submitted since the anonymous family advertised their call for the highly paid tutor, who needs to be "someone very special".
During the past few weeks, the listing has gained interest in the media, with several questioning why?
Forward-Thinking Method
The CEO, head and founder of Tutors International, which is supporting the family in their search, explained that in spite of first doubt, he viewed the idea "forward-looking", and "advanced".
When he met the family, he said they appreciated the atypical nature of their demand, and how young their son is.
But, they stated that they "didn't want to wait any longer" to engage a tutor, as they had postponed until their elder sibling was five, and by that point "cultural bias had by then become established".
What exactly does the family mean by "cultural bias"?
It's "all-encompassing", he replied. "How you eat, how you speak".
He said the firstborn had adopted "very nuanced, non-verbal cues" from the family, and had taken on their cultural habits. The family informed Adam they hoped to prevent this pattern to happen again with their new baby.
The strategy: To bring in a UK tutor, who needs to speak with Received Pronunciation, to shape the baby from day one.
Osmotic Learning
"A great deal of the education at the outset here is rather acquired indirectly," said the CEO.
It's through this subtle influence that the family are hoping the child will adopt the British traits they aim to instil.
He noted the tutor must be an individual who attended "the appropriate educational institutions – the same kinds of schools as the family aspire to send their son to".
"The educator simply needs to be the appropriate candidate, they'll be doing things they may not realize they're doing, just naturally," he commented.
Money No Object
The family told Adam the chosen tutor should ideally also have familiarity of or passion in horse riding, skiing, artistic pursuits and musical activities so as to shape the child in a wide range of interests.
Furthermore though, he stated the family wanted the tutor to enrol the child on a range of lessons so the child would be "horseback riding and learning an musical instrument by the time they are approximately three years old".
In the family's minds, guiding their son grow into a "British gentleman" will lead to achievement and provide access.
"For all the advantages and disadvantages of that, because it's definitely a class statement," he comments.
However, notwithstanding all this instruction in "UK identity", might the child absorb what is termed cultural leaning from the multicultural family he resides with in any case?
"Yes", replied he. "The family realize this may not work, but they've simply adopted the perspective of, 'we should try and let's go as soon as we can', because the expense of it is not relevant," he explained.
Overly Optimistic
A number of in the private teaching field who express similar reservations.
Another CEO, head and founder of an educational organization, who provides private tutors, wrote that "the development of adopting dual cultures, or indeed, forming one's identity, is something that must be experienced personally, not designed."
The expert noted that he had moved from the Far East to the United Kingdom at the age of 7 years old, and had been educated experiencing and embodying both cultures. He continued to study at a prestigious UK institution.
"The concept that an individual can function as a living vessel of English culture, an individual who can somehow transplant the attributes of a English gentleman upon a one-year-old child, seems to me optimistic and unrealistic," he stated.
"Based on my background, engaging a distinctly British tutor from babyhood will does not instantly produce the outcome they want.
"I did not have that kind of mentor, and nevertheless I have been lucky enough to enjoy numerous of the experiences they hope for their son."
He continued: "The reality is, self-identity cannot be dictated from the outside; it must be embraced, and it must be internally driven."
Buying Britishness
Naturally, UK identity is something Adam thinks can be taught – and commercialized.
"I believe the fact that the global community regards us in this regard is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
