"A household residing in North London seeks an extraordinary and qualified tutor to guide their smallest child on his initial journey to becoming an English gentleman."
Upon seeing this post, you might easily skip the wording "beginning" as just figurative language.
Yet, it might be the most significant part of this distinctive employment listing, as it attempts to recruit a teacher for a one-year-old.
Numerous of applications have already been sent in since the unnamed family published their search for the £180,000 per year tutor, who needs to be "someone very special".
Over the last few weeks, the advert has received notice throughout the media, with many wondering why?
Innovative Idea
The CEO, CEO and founder of Tutors International, which is helping the family in their hunt, explained that notwithstanding first scepticism, he found the idea "far sighted", and "innovative".
When he met the family, he noted they recognized the atypical nature of their request, and how early in age their son is.
But, 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 age "cultural conditioning had already taken hold".
But what does the family indicate by "cultural bias"?
It's "comprehensive", Adam responded. "The manner you eat, the manner you speak".
He stated the elder child had absorbed "really subtle, unspoken signals" from the family, and had adopted their cultural ways. The family told Adam they wished to avoid this pattern to repeat itself with their younger child.
The strategy: To bring in a British tutor, who should speak with RP, to influence the baby from the very start.
Subtle Influence
"Much of the development at the outset here is kind of acquired indirectly," said the expert.
It's via this subtle influence that the family are aiming the child will adopt the British traits they aim to impart.
Adam explained the tutor must be someone who went to "the appropriate educational institutions – the same kinds of schools as the family hope to send their son to".
"The tutor simply needs to be the right kind of person, they'll be doing things they may not realize they're doing, just naturally," he said.
Money No Object
The family informed Adam the chosen tutor should ideally also have understanding of or enthusiasm in horse riding, skiing, creative fields and music so as to influence the child in a diverse set of interests.
Furthermore though, he said the family desired the tutor to enrol the child on a selection of courses so the child would be "equestrian training and learning an musical instrument by the time they are approximately three years old".
In the family's view, helping their son become a "British gentleman" will lead to accomplishment and open doors.
"For all the rights and wrongs of that, because it's certainly a status symbol," he adds.
But, despite all this instruction in "Britishness", would the child absorb what is termed cultural bias from the international family he lives with anyway?
"Absolutely", said Adam. "The parents know this might not succeed, but they've simply adopted the view of, 'we should try and we'll proceed as soon as we can', because the cost of it is not a concern," he stated.
Impractical
There are some in the tutoring industry who share those reservations.
Peter Cui, head and founder of Blue Education, who supplies personal educators, commented that "the development of embracing two identities, or indeed, forming one's identity, is something that must be lived into, not engineered."
The expert noted that he had relocated from China to the Britain at the age of childhood, and had been brought up experiencing and practicing both cultures. He went on to study at a prestigious UK institution.
"The idea that one individual can act as a embodiment of Britishness, a person who can somehow transplant the qualities of a UK sophisticate onto a infant child, appears naive and unfeasible," he commented.
"Based on my background, having a quintessentially UK tutor from infancy will will not instantly produce the outcome they hope for.
"I never had such a figure, and however I have been privileged enough to live many of the situations they hope for their son."
He stated: "The reality is, personal identity should not be forced from the outside influences; it must be chosen, and it must be internally driven."
Purchasing UK Culture
Certainly, UK identity is something the CEO hopes can be instructed – and commercialized.
"I think the reality that the international society holds us in this light is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
