"A household residing in the northern part of London is looking for an remarkable and qualified instructor to guide their most junior child on his initial journey to becoming an English gentleman."
Upon seeing this listing, you might easily miss the wording "initial stages" as simple figurative language.
But, it may be the most significant part of this unique employment listing, as it attempts to find a teacher for a 12-month-old.
Hundreds of applications have now been received since the unnamed family published their call for the highly paid tutor, who must be "a uniquely qualified person".
Over the last few weeks, the listing has received interest in the news, with many asking why?
Innovative Idea
The CEO, chief executive of a global tutoring firm, which is helping the family in their hunt, stated that notwithstanding initial skepticism, he found the idea "far sighted", and "progressive".
When he met the family, he noted they recognized the unconventional nature of their request, and how young their son is.
But, they stated that they "preferred not to postpone any longer" to engage a tutor, as they had held off until their elder sibling was five, and by that age "cultural bias had already become established".
What precisely does the family indicate by "cultural bias"?
It's "comprehensive", the expert answered. "The way you eat, the way you speak".
He stated the older sibling had adopted "very nuanced, non-verbal cues" from the family, and had assumed their cultural habits. The family informed the consultant they did not want the same situation to repeat itself with their new baby.
The plan: To engage a English tutor, who needs to speak with standard English accent, to shape the baby from the very start.
Natural Absorption
"Much of the development at the outset here is rather osmotic," said the CEO.
It's by means of this subtle influence that the family are expecting the child will pick up the English characteristics they want to cultivate.
Adam explained the tutor had to be an individual who went to "the right kinds of schools – comparable categories of schools as the family hope to send their son to".
"The tutor simply needs to be the appropriate candidate, they'll be performing things they aren't even aware they're doing, effortlessly," he commented.
Cost Not Relevant
The family explained to him the chosen tutor should preferably also have understanding of or interest in horse riding, winter sports, creative fields and music so as to shape the child in a broad spectrum of interests.
Furthermore though, he said the family hoped the tutor to enrol the child on a selection of classes so the child would be "equestrian training and learning an tool by the time they are around three years old".
In the family's perspective, helping their son grow into a "English gentleman" will lead to success and create opportunities.
"For all the advantages and disadvantages of that, because it's certainly a social class indicator," he notes.
Yet, notwithstanding all this instruction in "English culture", might the child pick up alleged cultural influence from the multicultural family he resides with anyway?
"Yes", answered Adam. "The parents know this may not work, but they've merely embraced the attitude of, 'we should try and we should start as soon as we can', because the price of it is not a concern," he stated.
Idealistic and Unrealistic
Several in the education sector who express these concerns.
An education leader, CEO and founder of an educational organization, who provides individual instructors, stated that "the journey of becoming bicultural, or actually, forming one's identity, is something that must be lived into, not designed."
The expert explained that he had emigrated from China to the United Kingdom at the age of childhood, and had been brought up understanding and practicing both cultures. He progressed to study at the University of Cambridge.
"The idea that an individual can serve as a representation of Britishness, an individual who can somehow impart the attributes of a UK sophisticate to a one-year-old child, appears optimistic and unfeasible," he stated.
"Based on my background, having a quintessentially English tutor from infancy will does not necessarily produce the result they desire.
"I never had such a tutor, and yet I have been privileged enough to enjoy numerous of the opportunities they aspire for their son."
He continued: "The truth is, self-identity cannot be forced from the outside; it must be chosen, and it must come from within."
Buying Britishness
Of course, UK identity is something the expert thinks can be instructed – and commercialized.
"I believe the reality that the global community regards us in this light is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
