"A family based in north London wants to find an remarkable and experienced tutor to guide their smallest child on his first steps to becoming an British gentleman."
Looking at this advertisement, you might naturally miss the phrase "first-steps" as just an expression.
Yet, it might be the most important part of this unusual position posting, as it seeks to hire a mentor for a infant.
Numerous of responses have since been sent in since the unidentified family posted their request for the highly paid tutor, who has to be "someone very special".
Over the last few weeks, the post has gained attention across the press, with many asking why?
Progressive Approach
The CEO, head and founder of an education consultancy, which is supporting the family in their quest, said that despite first skepticism, he viewed the concept "forward-looking", and "innovative".
When he consulted the family, he mentioned they understood the atypical aspect of their requirement, and how immature their son is.
However, they explained that they "didn't want to wait any longer" to engage a tutor, as they had postponed until their elder sibling was five, and by that stage "cultural bias had by then become established".
What precisely does the family refer to by "cultural predisposition"?
It's "all-encompassing", Adam replied. "The manner you eat, the way you speak".
He said the elder child had adopted "extremely delicate, body language" from the family, and had assumed their cultural habits. The family explained to Adam they did not want this pattern to repeat itself with their younger child.
The plan: To bring in a UK tutor, who must speak with Received Pronunciation, to guide the baby right from the beginning.
Osmotic Learning
"A great deal of the development at the beginning here is rather acquired indirectly," said the CEO.
It's by means of this natural absorption that the family are expecting the child will pick up the UK customs they want to impart.
He explained the tutor must be somebody who attended "prestigious academies – similar types of schools as the family plan to send their son to".
"The educator just has to be the right kind of person, they'll be carrying out things they may not realize they're doing, just naturally," he said.
Money No Object
The family explained to Adam the selected educator should ideally also have knowledge of or interest in riding, winter sports, creative fields and music so as to influence the child in a broad spectrum of hobbies.
Additionally though, he explained the family desired the tutor to sign up the child on a range of courses so the child would be "pony-riding and picking up an musical instrument by the time they are about three years old".
In the family's view, assisting their son develop into a "UK sophisticate" will bring about success and create opportunities.
"Taking into account the pros and cons of that, because it's certainly a status symbol," he adds.
However, despite all this tutelage in "English culture", might the child adopt so-called cultural bias from the international family he resides with in any case?
"Certainly", said Adam. "The family realize this may not work, but they've simply adopted the perspective of, 'why not attempt it and we'll proceed as early as we can', because the price of it is not a concern," he explained.
Overly Optimistic
There are some in the tutoring industry who share similar doubts.
Another CEO, CEO and founder of Blue Education, who provides private tutors, commented that "the development of becoming bicultural, or indeed, forming one's identity, is something that must be experienced personally, not engineered."
He noted that he had relocated from the Far East to the Britain at the time of seven, and had been educated understanding and living dual heritages. He continued to study at the University of Cambridge.
"The notion that an individual can serve as a living vessel of Britishness, an individual who can in some way impart the qualities of a British gentleman upon a infant child, seems to me idealistic and impractical," he stated.
"From my perspective, having a typically English tutor from infancy will will not instantly create the outcome they want.
"I never had such a tutor, and however I have been lucky enough to live many of the opportunities they aspire for their son."
He continued: "The reality is, cultural identity cannot be imposed from the outside influences; it must be chosen, and it must come from within."
Acquiring Englishness
Certainly, English culture is something the CEO hopes can be instructed – and commercialized.
"I believe the fact that the global community views us in this light is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
