"A family residing in the northern part of London seeks an extraordinary and experienced tutor to guide their youngest child on his initial journey to becoming an English gentleman."
When reading this post, you might readily skip the phrase "beginning" as mere a turn of phrase.
However, it may be the most important aspect of this unique job advert, as it attempts to recruit a tutor for a infant.
Hundreds of applications have already been received since the anonymous family advertised their request for the £180,000 per year tutor, who must be "an exceptional individual".
During the past few weeks, the listing has attracted notice in the media, with numerous wondering why?
Progressive Approach
The CEO, chief executive of Tutors International, which is supporting the family in their hunt, explained that in spite of initial skepticism, he found the idea "visionary", and "advanced".
When he spoke with the family, he said they understood the unconventional nature of their request, and how early in age their son is.
But, they explained 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 point "cultural influence had already become established".
But what did the family refer to by "cultural leaning"?
It's "everything", Adam replied. "The way you eat, the manner you speak".
He said the elder child had picked up "very nuanced, unspoken signals" from the family, and had taken on their cultural habits. The family told Adam they hoped to prevent the same situation to repeat itself with their younger child.
The plan: To engage a UK tutor, who must speak with standard English accent, to influence the baby from day one.
Osmotic Learning
"A lot of the development at the start here is somewhat acquired indirectly," explained the CEO.
It's by means of this osmosis that the family are aiming the child will adopt the British traits they aim to cultivate.
The consultant noted the tutor must be an individual who studied at "prestigious academies – comparable categories of schools as the family hope to send their son to".
"The educator simply needs to be the suitable individual, they'll be carrying out things they aren't even aware they're doing, effortlessly," he commented.
Expense Not a Factor
The family explained to the expert the chosen tutor should preferably also have knowledge of or interest in horse riding, winter sports, creative fields and musical activities so as to influence the child in a broad spectrum of passions.
Furthermore though, he explained the family hoped the tutor to enrol the child on a range of classes so the child would be "horseback riding and picking up an tool by the time they are about three years old".
In the family's view, helping their son become a "British gentleman" will bring about success and open doors.
"Considering the rights and wrongs of that, because it's undoubtedly a social class indicator," he comments.
But, notwithstanding all this guidance in "English culture", would the child absorb so-called cultural leaning from the multicultural family he resides with in any case?
"Certainly", said he. "The family realize this might not succeed, but they've simply adopted the perspective of, 'we should try and we should start as soon as we can', because the cost of it is not a concern," he explained.
Idealistic and Unrealistic
There are some in the education sector who have these reservations.
Another CEO, CEO and founder of an educational organization, who also offer personal educators, commented that "the journey of embracing two identities, or actually, becoming oneself, is something that must be experienced personally, not engineered."
He wrote that he had emigrated from China to the UK at the time of 7 years old, and had been brought up experiencing and embodying two backgrounds. He progressed to learn at a prestigious UK institution.
"The concept that one individual can function as a representation of English culture, someone who can possibly impart the attributes of a UK sophisticate to a 12-month-old child, strikes me as optimistic and unfeasible," he wrote.
"From my perspective, having a distinctly English tutor from infancy will not necessarily achieve the result they hope for.
"I never had such a figure, and nevertheless I have been privileged enough to experience numerous of the situations they aspire for their son."
He added: "The truth is, cultural identity should not be dictated from the external environment; it must be selected, and it must be internally driven."
Acquiring Englishness
Certainly, Britishness is something the CEO thinks can be educated – and marketed.
"I think the fact that the world holds us in this respect is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
