"A household located in north London wants to find an exceptional and qualified tutor to assist their most junior child on his early path to becoming an British gentleman."
When reading this listing, you might readily overlook the wording "initial stages" as just figurative language.
Yet, it might be the crucial part of this distinctive position posting, as it seeks to hire a teacher for a infant.
Hundreds of submissions have since been sent in since the unnamed family posted their request for the highly paid tutor, who has to be "an exceptional individual".
Over the last few weeks, the post has attracted interest throughout the news, with many questioning why?
Forward-Thinking Method
A tutoring expert, chief executive of an education consultancy, which is helping the family in their search, said that in spite of initial doubt, he found the plan "far sighted", and "advanced".
When he met the family, he said they understood the unconventional nature of their requirement, and how early in age their son is.
Nevertheless, they explained that they "didn't want to wait any longer" to get a tutor, as they had held off until their elder sibling was five, and by that age "cultural bias had already taken hold".
What exactly does the family refer to by "cultural bias"?
It's "comprehensive", he replied. "The manner you eat, the way you speak".
He said the firstborn had absorbed "really subtle, body language" from the family, and had taken on their cultural norms. The family informed the consultant they wished to avoid history to repeat itself with their infant.
The strategy: To bring in a UK tutor, who should speak with RP, to shape the baby right from the beginning.
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 aiming the child will adopt the UK customs they want to cultivate.
The consultant said the tutor had to be an individual who went to "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 suitable individual, they'll be performing things they don't even know they're doing, simply by nature," he said.
Expense Not a Factor
The family told Adam the selected educator should preferably also have familiarity of or passion in equestrian activities, skiing, artistic pursuits and musical activities so as to inspire the child in a broad spectrum of hobbies.
More than that though, he explained the family hoped the tutor to sign up the child on a selection of courses 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 minds, assisting their son grow into a "English gentleman" will lead to accomplishment and create opportunities.
"Taking into account the pros and cons of that, because it's undoubtedly a social class indicator," he notes.
But, despite all this instruction in "UK identity", could the child absorb what is termed cultural leaning from the globally influenced family he resides with in any case?
"Absolutely", said he. "The family understand this may not work, but they've simply adopted the attitude of, 'let's give it a go and let's go as early as we can', because the expense of it is irrelevant," he explained.
Idealistic and Unrealistic
There are some in the tutoring industry who express those doubts.
Peter Cui, head and founder of a tutoring service, who also offer private tutors, stated that "the process of embracing two identities, or actually, becoming oneself, is something that must be lived into, not engineered."
He noted that he had relocated from the Far East to the Britain at the period of 7 years old, and had been brought up knowing and embodying dual heritages. He progressed to learn at a prestigious UK institution.
"The idea that one individual can function as a embodiment of Britishness, someone who can in some way transfer the qualities of a UK sophisticate to a 12-month-old child, seems to me idealistic and unrealistic," he wrote.
"Based on my background, having a typically British tutor from early childhood will not necessarily create the result they want.
"I did not have such a tutor, and however I have been fortunate enough to enjoy several of the opportunities they hope for their son."
He continued: "The reality is, self-identity can not be dictated from the outside influences; it must be selected, and it must be internally driven."
Purchasing UK Culture
Certainly, UK identity is something Adam hopes can be instructed – and commercialized.
"I think the fact that the world holds us in this light is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
