"Parents located in north London seeks an remarkable and skilled tutor to support their smallest child on his first steps to turning into an British gentleman."
Looking at this listing, you might naturally miss the wording "first-steps" as just an expression.
But, it might be the crucial aspect of this unique job advert, as it attempts to recruit a teacher for a 12-month-old.
Numerous of applications have since been received since the unidentified family posted their search for the £180,000 per year tutor, who needs to be "a uniquely qualified person".
Over the last few weeks, the advert has gained interest across the press, with several asking why?
Forward-Thinking Method
A tutoring expert, CEO and founder of an education consultancy, which is supporting the family in their search, explained that despite early skepticism, he considered the concept "forward-looking", and "advanced".
When he spoke with the family, he mentioned they recognized the unconventional character of their demand, and how early in age their son is.
But, they stated that they "preferred not to postpone any longer" to get a tutor, as they had held off until their elder sibling was five, and by that stage "cultural influence had by then set in".
What precisely does the family mean by "cultural leaning"?
It's "all-encompassing", Adam answered. "The manner you eat, the manner you speak".
He explained the elder child had picked up "extremely delicate, non-verbal cues" from the family, and had assumed their cultural norms. The family informed the consultant they hoped to prevent the same situation to repeat itself with their new baby.
The strategy: To engage a UK tutor, who must speak with RP, to guide the baby from the very start.
Osmotic Learning
"A great deal of the learning at the beginning here is somewhat osmotic," stated the expert.
It's via this subtle influence that the family are hoping the child will pick up the British traits they want to instil.
The consultant noted the tutor must be an individual who attended "prestigious academies – similar types 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 doing things they may not realize they're doing, just naturally," he added.
Cost Not Relevant
The family explained to the expert the successful candidate should ideally also have knowledge of or enthusiasm in horse riding, alpine skiing, creative fields and instrumental training so as to influence the child in a broad spectrum of hobbies.
More than that though, he said the family wanted the tutor to sign up the child on a variety of courses so the child would be "horseback riding and learning an tool by the time they are approximately three years old".
In the family's view, assisting their son grow into a "British gentleman" will lead to success and create opportunities.
"Considering the rights and wrongs of that, because it's undoubtedly a class statement," he adds.
Yet, notwithstanding all this guidance in "English culture", would the child pick up what is termed cultural bias from the international family he is raised by in any case?
"Certainly", said he. "They know this may not work, but they've merely embraced the view of, 'why not attempt it and let's go as early as we can', because the cost of it is not relevant," he stated.
Overly Optimistic
Several in the private teaching field who have these doubts.
Another CEO, chief executive of a tutoring service, who supplies personal educators, commented that "the process of becoming bicultural, or actually, discovering oneself, is something that must be experienced personally, not designed."
He wrote that he had emigrated from Asia to the United Kingdom at the age of childhood, and had been raised knowing and living two backgrounds. He continued to study at Cambridge University.
"The idea that a single person can act as a living vessel of UK identity, a person who can in some way impart the qualities of a British gentleman to a infant child, appears idealistic and impractical," he stated.
"Based on my background, engaging a distinctly English tutor from infancy will not automatically achieve the outcome they want.
"I wasn't provided with such a tutor, and nevertheless I have been lucky enough to live several of the experiences they hope for their son."
He continued: "The truth is, personal identity can not be dictated from the outside influences; it must be embraced, and it must come from within."
Acquiring Englishness
Of course, UK identity is something the expert thinks can be taught – and commercialized.
"I believe the situation that the world regards us in this respect is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
