"A household residing in North London wants to find an extraordinary and skilled tutor to assist their smallest child on his early path to becoming an British gentleman."
Looking at this post, you might easily skip the wording "beginning" as simple a turn of phrase.
But, it may be the most important element of this unique position posting, as it aims to recruit a teacher for a infant.
Hundreds of applications have now been submitted since the unidentified family advertised their request for the £180k-a-year tutor, who needs to be "an exceptional individual".
Over the last few weeks, the listing has gained interest in the news, with numerous wondering why?
Forward-Thinking Method
The CEO, head and founder of an education consultancy, which is supporting the family in their hunt, explained that in spite of first skepticism, he considered the concept "forward-looking", and "advanced".
When he consulted the family, he said they appreciated the atypical character of their demand, and how young their son is.
But, they explained that they "didn't want to wait any longer" to get a tutor, as they had held off until their firstborn was five, and by that stage "cultural conditioning had already become established".
But what did the family indicate by "cultural predisposition"?
It's "everything", he responded. "The way you eat, how you speak".
He said the elder child had absorbed "very nuanced, non-verbal cues" from the family, and had taken on their cultural ways. The family told the consultant they wished to avoid the same situation to recur with their infant.
The strategy: To hire a British tutor, who needs to speak with RP, to influence the baby from the very start.
Subtle Influence
"Much of the development at the beginning here is rather osmotic," said Adam.
It's through this natural absorption that the family are aiming the child will acquire the UK customs they want to cultivate.
He noted the tutor needed to be someone who went to "the appropriate educational institutions – the same kinds of schools as the family hope to send their son to".
"The educator must be the right kind of person, they'll be performing things they may not realize they're doing, just naturally," he commented.
Money No Object
The family told Adam the selected educator should ideally also have knowledge of or passion in horse riding, winter sports, artistic pursuits and instrumental training so as to inspire the child in a wide range of hobbies.
Furthermore though, he explained the family desired the tutor to register the child on a range of classes so the child would be "equestrian training and picking up an musical instrument by the time they are around three years old".
In the family's view, helping their son become a "English gentleman" will lead to achievement and create opportunities.
"Considering the advantages and disadvantages of that, because it's definitely a status symbol," he comments.
However, in spite of all this guidance in "English culture", could the child absorb alleged cultural leaning from the international family he lives with in any case?
"Absolutely", answered Adam. "The parents realize this might not succeed, but they've just taken the perspective of, 'why not attempt it and we'll proceed as quickly as we can', because the price of it is not a concern," he explained.
Overly Optimistic
Several in the education sector who express these doubts.
Another CEO, head and founder of an educational organization, who also offer private tutors, stated that "the process of becoming bicultural, or in fact, becoming oneself, is something that must be grown into, not designed."
Peter explained that he had relocated from Asia to the UK at the period of seven, and had been brought up knowing and practicing both cultures. He progressed to learn at the University of Cambridge.
"The concept that one individual can act as a embodiment of Britishness, someone who can in some way transplant the attributes of a British gentleman onto a one-year-old child, strikes me as idealistic and unfeasible," he commented.
"Based on my background, employing a quintessentially British tutor from early childhood will not automatically achieve the goal they want.
"I did not have that kind of mentor, and however I have been fortunate enough to experience numerous of the situations they aspire for their son."
He stated: "The fact is, self-identity cannot be imposed from the external environment; it must be selected, and it must be internally driven."
Purchasing UK Culture
Of course, Britishness is something Adam thinks can be instructed – and commercialized.
"I believe the fact that the global community holds us in this respect is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
