"A family located in north London seeks an exceptional and experienced educator to support their youngest child on his initial journey to turning into an English gentleman."
When reading this post, you might readily overlook the term "initial stages" as mere a turn of phrase.
Yet, it might be the crucial part of this distinctive position posting, as it seeks to find a teacher for a one-year-old.
Hundreds of submissions have already been submitted since the unidentified family advertised their call for the £180,000 per year tutor, who has to be "an exceptional individual".
In recent few weeks, the post has gained interest in the news, with numerous questioning why?
Innovative Idea
The CEO, CEO and founder of an education consultancy, which is supporting the family in their quest, stated that despite early scepticism, he considered the idea "visionary", and "innovative".
When he consulted the family, he said they appreciated the unusual nature of their request, and how early in age their son is.
Nevertheless, they clarified that they "were unwilling to delay any longer" to hire a tutor, as they had postponed until their older child was five, and by that point "cultural conditioning had by then become established".
What exactly did the family refer to by "cultural bias"?
It's "all-encompassing", he responded. "How you eat, the way you speak".
He explained the older sibling had picked up "very nuanced, body language" from the family, and had taken on their cultural norms. The family explained to him they did not want this pattern to happen again with their younger child.
The intention: To engage a British tutor, who should speak with Received Pronunciation, to guide the baby right from the beginning.
Osmotic Learning
"Much of the learning at the outset here is somewhat acquired indirectly," said Adam.
It's by means of this subtle influence that the family are aiming the child will pick up the English characteristics they aim to cultivate.
He noted the tutor had to be someone who went to "prestigious academies – the same kinds of schools as the family hope to send their son to".
"The educator must be the appropriate candidate, they'll be carrying out things they aren't even aware they're doing, simply by nature," he commented.
Money No Object
The family told Adam the selected educator should ideally also have understanding of or interest in riding, winter sports, artistic pursuits and musical activities so as to inspire the child in a broad spectrum of passions.
Furthermore though, he said the family wanted the tutor to sign up the child on a selection of classes so the child would be "equestrian training and picking up an tool by the time they are about three years old".
In the family's minds, helping their son grow into a "UK sophisticate" will lead to success and create opportunities.
"Considering the rights and wrongs of that, because it's certainly a class statement," he notes.
However, notwithstanding all this instruction in "Britishness", could the child pick up so-called cultural bias from the globally influenced family he resides with anyway?
"Yes", answered Adam. "They understand this might not succeed, but they've just taken the attitude of, 'we should try and let's go as soon as we can', because the expense of it is not relevant," he stated.
Overly Optimistic
Several in the education sector who express similar reservations.
Peter Cui, head and founder of Blue Education, who also offer personal educators, wrote that "the development of adopting dual cultures, or actually, forming one's identity, is something that must be grown into, not engineered."
The expert explained that he had relocated from Asia to the Britain at the age of 7 years old, and had been brought up experiencing and embodying two backgrounds. He continued to be educated at a prestigious UK institution.
"The concept that a single person can act as a living vessel of UK identity, a person who can somehow transplant the characteristics of a British gentleman to a one-year-old child, appears optimistic and unrealistic," he wrote.
"From my perspective, engaging a quintessentially English tutor from early childhood will does not necessarily produce the result they desire.
"I never had that kind of mentor, and nevertheless I have been lucky enough to enjoy numerous of the experiences they aspire for their son."
He stated: "The fact is, personal identity can not be dictated from the outside; 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 marketed.
"I think the reality that the world views us in this light is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
