"Parents located in the northern part of London seeks an extraordinary and skilled instructor to assist their youngest child on his first steps to turning into an English gentleman."
When reading this post, you might naturally miss the wording "first-steps" as simple an expression.
However, it might be the most significant element of this distinctive employment listing, as it attempts to find a tutor for a one-year-old.
Hundreds of submissions have now been sent in since the unnamed family advertised their search for the £180k-a-year tutor, who must be "an exceptional individual".
In recent few weeks, the listing has gained notice throughout the news, with numerous questioning why?
Forward-Thinking Method
A tutoring expert, CEO and founder of an education consultancy, which is supporting the family in their hunt, said that notwithstanding initial skepticism, he considered the concept "forward-looking", and "innovative".
When he consulted the family, he said they recognized the unusual nature of their request, and how early in age their son is.
However, they stated that they "were unwilling to delay any longer" to engage a tutor, as they had postponed until their firstborn was five, and by that point "cultural influence had already set in".
But what does the family refer to by "cultural bias"?
It's "everything", Adam responded. "How you eat, the manner you speak".
He stated the firstborn had picked up "extremely delicate, non-verbal cues" from the family, and had adopted their cultural habits. The family informed Adam they wished to avoid history to recur with their younger child.
The strategy: To hire a English tutor, who should speak with RP, to shape the baby from day one.
Osmotic Learning
"A great deal of the learning at the outset here is kind of osmotic," said Adam.
It's by means of this natural absorption that the family are expecting the child will pick up the UK customs they aim to instil.
The consultant said the tutor must be someone who attended "the right kinds of schools – comparable categories of schools as the family aspire to send their son to".
"The instructor simply needs to be the right kind of person, they'll be performing things they don't even know they're doing, just naturally," he added.
Money No Object
The family told Adam the chosen tutor should ideally also have knowledge of or interest in horse riding, winter sports, artistic pursuits and music so as to influence the child in a wide range of interests.
Furthermore though, he stated the family wanted the tutor to register 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 perspective, helping their son grow into a "English gentleman" will bring about success and create opportunities.
"For all the advantages and disadvantages of that, because it's definitely a social class indicator," he notes.
But, despite all this guidance in "Britishness", would the child absorb what is termed cultural leaning from the multicultural family he lives with in any case?
"Absolutely", replied Adam. "The family know this might not succeed, but they've merely embraced the attitude of, 'we should try and we'll proceed as soon as we can', because the cost of it is not relevant," he said.
Idealistic and Unrealistic
A number of in the education sector who have those concerns.
Another CEO, head and founder of Blue Education, who supplies private tutors, wrote that "the process of embracing two identities, or indeed, becoming oneself, is something that must be grown into, not designed."
Peter noted that he had moved from Asia to the Britain at the period of childhood, and had been educated knowing and embodying dual heritages. He progressed to learn at a prestigious UK institution.
"The notion that an individual can serve as a living vessel of Britishness, someone who can somehow transplant the characteristics of a English gentleman upon a infant child, appears idealistic and impractical," he commented.
"In my experience, having a typically UK tutor from babyhood will does not necessarily achieve the goal they hope for.
"I wasn't provided with such a figure, and however I have been lucky enough to experience several of the opportunities they desire for their son."
He added: "The truth is, self-identity cannot be forced from the external environment; it must be chosen, and it must come from within."
Purchasing UK Culture
Of course, English culture is something the expert thinks can be educated – and marketed.
"I think the reality that the world regards us in this regard is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
