"A household located in North London wants to find an extraordinary and experienced educator to assist their smallest child on his early path to becoming an British gentleman."
Upon seeing this advertisement, you might readily overlook the term "initial stages" as mere a turn of phrase.
But, it may be the crucial aspect of this unique position posting, as it seeks to find a mentor for a 12-month-old.
Hundreds of applications have already been sent in since the unnamed family posted their search for the £180,000 per year tutor, who needs to be "a uniquely qualified person".
In recent few weeks, the advert has attracted interest across the news, with several questioning why?
Innovative Idea
The CEO, CEO and founder of an education consultancy, which is helping the family in their search, explained that despite early skepticism, he found the plan "forward-looking", and "advanced".
When he met the family, he noted they understood the unconventional nature of their demand, and how immature their son is.
But, they stated that they "didn't want to wait any longer" to hire a tutor, as they had waited until their elder sibling was five, and by that age "cultural influence had already taken hold".
What exactly did the family indicate by "cultural leaning"?
It's "all-encompassing", he answered. "How you eat, the way you speak".
He stated the elder child had adopted "extremely delicate, non-verbal cues" from the family, and had assumed their cultural habits. The family informed Adam they wished to avoid this pattern to repeat itself with their infant.
The strategy: To engage a British tutor, who should speak with Received Pronunciation, to shape the baby right from the beginning.
Natural Absorption
"Much of the education at the outset here is rather osmotic," said the CEO.
It's via this natural absorption that the family are aiming the child will adopt the British traits they wish to impart.
The consultant noted the tutor had to be somebody who went to "the appropriate educational institutions – comparable categories of schools as the family plan to send their son to".
"The tutor simply needs to be the suitable individual, they'll be performing things they may not realize they're doing, effortlessly," he commented.
Money No Object
The family told him the successful candidate should ideally also have familiarity of or passion in riding, winter sports, creative fields and music so as to shape the child in a wide range of passions.
More than that though, he explained the family wanted the tutor to enrol the child on a variety of courses so the child would be "equestrian training and starting an instrument by the time they are about three years old".
In the family's minds, helping their son become a "British gentleman" will result in achievement and provide access.
"Taking into account the pros and cons of that, because it's undoubtedly a status symbol," he comments.
However, notwithstanding all this guidance in "UK identity", might the child pick up what is termed cultural influence from the multicultural family he resides with in any case?
"Yes", answered he. "The family know this could fail, but they've simply adopted the perspective of, 'we should try and let's go as early as we can', because the price of it is irrelevant," he explained.
Idealistic and Unrealistic
There are some in the education sector who express similar doubts.
An education leader, CEO and founder of Blue Education, who provides individual instructors, wrote that "the development of becoming bicultural, or actually, forming one's identity, is something that must be grown into, not engineered."
The expert explained that he had emigrated from Asia to the Britain at the age of childhood, and had been brought up experiencing and practicing both cultures. He progressed to learn at a prestigious UK institution.
"The concept that an individual can serve as a living vessel of Britishness, someone who can somehow transfer the qualities of a UK sophisticate to a one-year-old child, strikes me as naive and unrealistic," he commented.
"From my perspective, having a distinctly British tutor from early childhood will will not instantly create the result they want.
"I did not have that kind of mentor, and yet I have been fortunate enough to enjoy many of the experiences they aspire for their son."
He stated: "The fact is, cultural identity should not be forced from the outside influences; it must be embraced, and it must come from within."
Purchasing UK Culture
Naturally, Britishness is something Adam hopes can be educated – and marketed.
"I think the situation that the global community views us in this light is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
