"Parents located in the northern part of London seeks an exceptional and skilled instructor to guide their youngest child on his initial journey to turning into an English gentleman."
When reading this advertisement, you might readily miss the phrase "initial stages" as mere an expression.
However, it may be the most important element of this unusual position posting, as it aims to recruit a teacher for a infant.
Hundreds of responses have now been sent in since the unnamed family advertised their call for the highly paid tutor, who must be "a uniquely qualified person".
Over the last few weeks, the listing has gained interest across the media, with several asking why?
Progressive Approach
The CEO, CEO and founder of a global tutoring firm, which is helping the family in their hunt, explained that notwithstanding initial scepticism, he found the concept "visionary", and "progressive".
When he spoke with the family, he noted they understood the atypical aspect 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 firstborn was five, and by that point "cultural conditioning had already taken hold".
But what does the family refer to by "cultural bias"?
It's "all-encompassing", he answered. "The manner you eat, the way you speak".
He said the firstborn had adopted "really subtle, non-verbal cues" from the family, and had assumed their cultural norms. The family explained to the consultant they did not want this pattern to repeat itself with their younger child.
The strategy: To engage a UK tutor, who should speak with Received Pronunciation, to influence the baby from the very start.
Subtle Influence
"A great deal of the education at the start here is kind of acquired indirectly," said Adam.
It's through this natural absorption that the family are expecting the child will pick up the English characteristics they want to cultivate.
Adam explained the tutor must be an individual who attended "prestigious academies – the same kinds of schools as the family aspire to send their son to".
"The instructor just has to be the right kind of person, they'll be performing things they don't even know they're doing, just naturally," he said.
Cost Not Relevant
The family explained to the expert the selected educator should preferably also have familiarity of or passion in equestrian activities, skiing, the arts and music so as to shape the child in a diverse set of interests.
Furthermore though, he explained the family wanted the tutor to sign up the child on a variety of classes so the child would be "pony-riding and starting an musical instrument by the time they are approximately three years old".
In the family's perspective, guiding their son develop into a "English gentleman" will lead to accomplishment and create opportunities.
"Taking into account the rights and wrongs of that, because it's definitely a social class indicator," he adds.
Yet, in spite of all this tutelage in "English culture", might the child absorb alleged cultural bias from the international family he lives with anyway?
"Certainly", answered Adam. "They know this may not work, but they've merely embraced the view of, 'let's give it a go and we'll proceed as soon as we can', because the cost of it is irrelevant," he stated.
Impractical
There are some in the tutoring industry who have these reservations.
Another CEO, head and founder of Blue Education, who supplies individual instructors, stated that "the development of embracing two identities, or actually, forming one's identity, is something that must be grown into, not manufactured."
He explained that he had relocated from Asia to the United Kingdom at the time of seven, and had been raised experiencing and living two backgrounds. He continued to be educated at Cambridge University.
"The concept that an individual can serve as a representation of UK identity, a person who can somehow transplant the attributes of a English gentleman to a one-year-old child, strikes me as idealistic and unrealistic," he wrote.
"From my perspective, engaging a typically British tutor from babyhood will not automatically produce the result they hope for.
"I wasn't provided with such a figure, and however I have been privileged enough to enjoy many of the experiences they hope for their son."
He continued: "The reality is, cultural identity should not be imposed from the external environment; it must be chosen, and it must originate internally."
Buying Britishness
Certainly, English culture is something Adam believes can be instructed – and sold.
"I believe the reality that the world holds us in this light is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
