"A household residing in north London wants to find an exceptional and qualified educator to assist their most junior child on his early path to turning into an British gentleman."
When reading this listing, you might easily miss the wording "beginning" as simple figurative language.
However, it may be the most important aspect of this unique job advert, as it aims to recruit a mentor for a 12-month-old.
Hundreds of submissions have now been sent in since the anonymous family posted their search for the highly paid tutor, who needs to be "a uniquely qualified person".
In recent few weeks, the listing has received attention across the news, with several asking why?
Forward-Thinking Method
A tutoring expert, head and founder of an education consultancy, which is assisting the family in their quest, said that notwithstanding early scepticism, he considered the plan "far sighted", and "progressive".
When he met the family, he mentioned they understood the atypical nature of their requirement, and how early in age their son is.
Nevertheless, they clarified that they "didn't want to wait any longer" to get a tutor, as they had waited until their older child was five, and by that age "cultural influence had already set in".
What exactly did the family indicate by "cultural leaning"?
It's "comprehensive", the expert responded. "The way you eat, the manner you speak".
He explained the firstborn had adopted "extremely delicate, unspoken signals" from the family, and had adopted their cultural norms. The family explained to the consultant they wished to avoid the same situation to recur with their new baby.
The intention: To hire a English tutor, who must speak with standard English accent, to influence the baby from the very start.
Subtle Influence
"A lot of the development at the outset here is rather osmotic," explained the expert.
It's via this osmosis that the family are aiming the child will pick up the UK customs they wish to cultivate.
He explained the tutor must be somebody who went to "the appropriate educational institutions – similar types of schools as the family plan to send their son to".
"The instructor must be the right kind of person, they'll be doing things they may not realize they're doing, just naturally," he commented.
Cost Not Relevant
The family explained to the expert the successful candidate should ideally also have understanding of or enthusiasm in horse riding, alpine skiing, the arts and musical activities so as to influence the child in a diverse set of interests.
Furthermore though, he explained the family hoped the tutor to sign up the child on a variety of classes so the child would be "horseback riding and picking up an musical instrument by the time they are around three years old".
In the family's minds, assisting their son develop into a "UK sophisticate" will bring about achievement and provide access.
"For all the advantages and disadvantages of that, because it's certainly a class statement," he notes.
However, in spite of all this guidance in "UK identity", might the child absorb alleged cultural influence from the globally influenced family he is raised by anyway?
"Yes", replied the CEO. "The family realize this could fail, but they've just taken the view of, 'we should try and we should start as soon as we can', because the cost of it is not relevant," he explained.
Overly Optimistic
There are some in the education sector who share these doubts.
Peter Cui, head and founder of a tutoring service, who supplies private tutors, commented that "the process of adopting dual cultures, or indeed, forming one's identity, is something that must be grown into, not engineered."
The expert wrote that he had moved from the Far East to the United Kingdom at the time of seven, and had been educated knowing and embodying dual heritages. He continued to be educated at a prestigious UK institution.
"The concept that a single person can act as a representation of English culture, a person who can in some way transplant the characteristics of a English gentleman to a infant child, seems to me optimistic and unrealistic," he commented.
"From my perspective, engaging a quintessentially British tutor from early childhood will will not automatically achieve the outcome they desire.
"I wasn't provided with that kind of mentor, and yet I have been privileged enough to experience several of the experiences they desire for their son."
He stated: "The reality is, cultural identity cannot be dictated from the external environment; it must be selected, and it must come from within."
Acquiring Englishness
Of course, Britishness is something Adam hopes can be taught – and commercialized.
"I believe the fact that the global community regards us in this light is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
