"A household based in north London seeks an extraordinary and experienced instructor to support their smallest child on his first steps to turning into an English gentleman."
When reading this post, you might readily skip the term "beginning" as just figurative language.
But, it might be the most significant aspect of this unique employment listing, as it seeks to find a mentor for a 12-month-old.
Many of submissions have already been submitted since the unnamed family published their call for the £180,000 per year tutor, who needs to be "someone very special".
Over the last few weeks, the advert has gained attention in the press, with many asking why?
Forward-Thinking Method
A tutoring expert, head and founder of an education consultancy, which is supporting the family in their search, stated that in spite of first scepticism, he found the idea "far sighted", and "progressive".
When he met the family, he noted they recognized the atypical aspect of their demand, and how young their son is.
But, they clarified that they "preferred not to postpone any longer" to get a tutor, as they had waited until their older child was five, and by that age "cultural conditioning had already set in".
What exactly did the family indicate by "cultural leaning"?
It's "everything", the expert responded. "The manner you eat, how you speak".
He explained the firstborn had picked up "extremely delicate, unspoken signals" from the family, and had assumed their cultural ways. The family explained to him they wished to avoid this pattern to repeat itself with their infant.
The strategy: To hire a UK tutor, who should speak with standard English accent, to guide the baby from day one.
Natural Absorption
"A lot of the development at the beginning here is somewhat absorbed naturally," stated the expert.
It's via this osmosis that the family are hoping the child will pick up the UK customs they aim to instil.
He explained the tutor must be somebody who studied at "the appropriate educational institutions – the same kinds 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 performing things they may not realize they're doing, effortlessly," he added.
Expense Not a Factor
The family informed Adam the successful candidate should ideally also have understanding of or interest in riding, skiing, creative fields and instrumental training so as to shape the child in a wide range of hobbies.
Furthermore though, he stated the family desired the tutor to enrol the child on a range of lessons so the child would be "equestrian training and starting an instrument by the time they are approximately three years old".
In the family's view, assisting their son grow into a "British gentleman" will bring about achievement and create opportunities.
"Taking into account the rights and wrongs of that, because it's certainly a social class indicator," he adds.
However, in spite of all this instruction in "English culture", could the child adopt alleged cultural bias from the multicultural family he resides with in any case?
"Absolutely", answered he. "They understand this could fail, but they've simply adopted the attitude of, 'we should try and let's go as soon as we can', because the price of it is not relevant," he stated.
Impractical
There are some in the tutoring industry who express those concerns.
An education leader, CEO and founder of a tutoring service, who provides personal educators, stated that "the development of adopting dual cultures, or actually, becoming oneself, is something that must be grown into, not manufactured."
Peter explained that he had moved from Asia to the United Kingdom at the time of childhood, and had been educated knowing and practicing dual heritages. He continued to be educated at Cambridge University.
"The idea that one individual can serve as a representation of Britishness, a person who can somehow transfer the qualities of a English gentleman upon a infant child, seems to me idealistic and impractical," he wrote.
"From my perspective, employing a distinctly English tutor from babyhood will will not automatically achieve the outcome they want.
"I did not have such a tutor, and nevertheless I have been privileged enough to live many of the opportunities they hope for their son."
He added: "The truth is, personal identity should not be dictated from the outside; it must be embraced, and it must originate internally."
Purchasing UK Culture
Of course, English culture is something the expert believes can be educated – and commercialized.
"I think the reality that the world regards us in this light is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
