"A family located in the northern part of London wants to find an exceptional and experienced instructor to guide their youngest child on his first steps to turning into an British gentleman."
When reading this listing, you might readily skip the phrase "beginning" as mere an expression.
Yet, it may be the most significant element of this distinctive position posting, as it seeks to find a mentor for a 12-month-old.
Hundreds of responses have since been submitted since the unnamed family published their request for the highly paid tutor, who has to be "a uniquely qualified person".
In recent few weeks, the listing has gained interest across the news, with several questioning why?
Progressive Approach
The CEO, head and founder of an education consultancy, which is supporting the family in their hunt, stated that despite early doubt, he considered the plan "forward-looking", and "progressive".
When he consulted the family, he noted they understood the unconventional nature of their demand, and how young their son is.
However, they stated that they "didn't want to wait any longer" to hire a tutor, as they had waited until their older child was five, and by that age "cultural conditioning had by then set in".
What exactly did the family mean by "cultural predisposition"?
It's "comprehensive", the expert responded. "The manner you eat, how you speak".
He stated the elder child had picked up "extremely delicate, non-verbal cues" from the family, and had taken on their cultural ways. The family told Adam they hoped to prevent history to happen again with their new baby.
The strategy: To bring in a UK tutor, who must speak with Received Pronunciation, to influence the baby right from the beginning.
Natural Absorption
"A lot of the learning at the start here is rather absorbed naturally," stated the expert.
It's through this natural absorption that the family are expecting the child will pick up the English characteristics they wish to impart.
He noted the tutor must be somebody who went to "prestigious academies – similar types of schools as the family hope to send their son to".
"The instructor simply needs to be the appropriate candidate, they'll be carrying out things they aren't even aware they're doing, just naturally," he added.
Cost Not Relevant
The family informed Adam the chosen tutor should preferably also have knowledge of or passion in horse riding, skiing, the arts and musical activities so as to influence the child in a diverse set of hobbies.
Furthermore though, he explained the family desired the tutor to register the child on a selection of lessons so the child would be "horseback riding and picking up an tool by the time they are around three years old".
In the family's perspective, helping their son grow into a "UK sophisticate" will lead to accomplishment and create opportunities.
"Taking into account the pros and cons of that, because it's definitely a social class indicator," he adds.
Yet, notwithstanding all this instruction in "UK identity", could the child adopt alleged cultural influence from the globally influenced family he resides with anyway?
"Certainly", answered Adam. "They understand this could fail, but they've simply adopted the perspective of, 'let's give it a go and we should start as soon as we can', because the cost of it is not a concern," he explained.
Impractical
A number of in the education sector who have those doubts.
Peter Cui, chief executive of a tutoring service, who also offer private tutors, commented that "the process of adopting dual cultures, 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 UK at the age of seven, and had been brought up experiencing and living dual heritages. He continued to be educated at a prestigious UK institution.
"The notion that one individual can act as a embodiment of UK identity, an individual who can somehow transplant the attributes of a British gentleman to a 12-month-old child, appears idealistic and unrealistic," he wrote.
"Based on my background, engaging a distinctly British tutor from early childhood will not necessarily create the result they desire.
"I never had such a tutor, and nevertheless I have been privileged enough to enjoy several of the experiences they desire for their son."
He continued: "The fact is, self-identity can not be forced from the external environment; it must be embraced, and it must be internally driven."
Buying Britishness
Naturally, UK identity is something the expert thinks can be taught – and marketed.
"I believe the fact that the global community holds us in this regard is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
