"Parents based in North London is looking for an extraordinary and qualified educator to guide their youngest child on his first steps to becoming an English gentleman."
When reading this post, you might easily overlook the wording "first-steps" as simple an expression.
But, it may be the most important element of this unique job advert, as it aims to recruit a tutor for a infant.
Numerous of applications have already been submitted since the anonymous family published their search for the £180k-a-year tutor, who must be "a uniquely qualified person".
Over the last few weeks, the listing has received interest in the news, with numerous wondering why?
Forward-Thinking Method
The CEO, chief executive of an education consultancy, which is assisting the family in their hunt, explained that notwithstanding initial doubt, he viewed the idea "visionary", and "innovative".
When he consulted the family, he noted they appreciated the atypical character of their request, and how early in age their son is.
Nevertheless, they stated 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 stage "cultural bias had already set in".
What exactly does the family mean by "cultural leaning"?
It's "everything", Adam answered. "The way you eat, the manner you speak".
He stated the elder child had picked up "really subtle, body language" from the family, and had assumed their cultural norms. The family explained to Adam they hoped to prevent this pattern to repeat itself with their infant.
The strategy: To hire a UK tutor, who must speak with standard English accent, to shape the baby from day one.
Natural Absorption
"Much of the education at the start here is rather osmotic," stated the expert.
It's by means of this osmosis that the family are expecting the child will adopt the English characteristics they want to cultivate.
He said the tutor needed to be someone who studied at "the right kinds of schools – comparable categories of schools as the family plan to send their son to".
"The educator simply needs to be the right kind of person, they'll be doing things they don't even know they're doing, just naturally," he commented.
Expense Not a Factor
The family explained to Adam the chosen tutor should ideally also have understanding of or enthusiasm in riding, winter sports, the arts and musical activities so as to influence the child in a wide range of interests.
Furthermore though, he said the family wanted the tutor to register the child on a range of courses so the child would be "horseback riding and picking up an musical instrument by the time they are approximately three years old".
In the family's minds, guiding their son develop into a "English gentleman" will bring about achievement and create opportunities.
"For all the advantages and disadvantages of that, because it's definitely a status symbol," he adds.
However, notwithstanding all this tutelage in "English culture", might the child absorb so-called cultural bias from the multicultural family he is raised by anyway?
"Yes", answered he. "The family realize this may not work, 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 not relevant," he said.
Impractical
A number of in the private teaching field who express these concerns.
Peter Cui, head and founder of Blue Education, who provides private tutors, commented that "the process of adopting dual cultures, or actually, discovering oneself, is something that must be experienced personally, not engineered."
The expert noted that he had relocated from China to the UK at the period of 7 years old, and had been brought up understanding and living two backgrounds. He continued to study at a prestigious UK institution.
"The notion that a single person can serve as a embodiment of English culture, someone who can possibly transfer the attributes of a English gentleman to a 12-month-old child, strikes me as optimistic and impractical," he stated.
"From my perspective, having a typically UK tutor from babyhood will does not automatically create the outcome they want.
"I did not have that kind of mentor, and however I have been lucky enough to experience several of the experiences they desire for their son."
He added: "The reality is, cultural identity can not be forced from the outside influences; it must be chosen, and it must be internally driven."
Acquiring Englishness
Certainly, UK identity is something the CEO believes can be instructed – and marketed.
"I believe the situation that the world views us in this light is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
