"Parents located in the northern part of London wants to find an exceptional and qualified instructor to guide their smallest child on his first steps to becoming an British gentleman."
When reading this post, you might easily skip the phrase "first-steps" as just figurative language.
However, it may be the most important aspect of this unique position posting, as it aims to find a tutor for a one-year-old.
Many of responses have since been received since the unnamed family posted their call for the £180k-a-year tutor, who must be "a uniquely qualified person".
Over the last few weeks, the advert has attracted interest throughout the press, with many questioning why?
Innovative Idea
A tutoring expert, head and founder of Tutors International, which is helping the family in their hunt, explained that notwithstanding first scepticism, he considered the concept "forward-looking", and "advanced".
When he consulted the family, he said they recognized the unusual aspect of their requirement, and how early in age their son is.
But, they explained that they "didn't want to wait any longer" to hire a tutor, as they had postponed until their elder sibling was five, and by that point "cultural bias had already become established".
But what did the family indicate by "cultural predisposition"?
It's "all-encompassing", he replied. "The way you eat, the manner you speak".
He said the older sibling had picked up "extremely delicate, non-verbal cues" from the family, and had taken on their cultural habits. The family informed him they wished to avoid history to happen again with their younger child.
The strategy: To engage a English tutor, who must speak with Received Pronunciation, to shape the baby from the very start.
Osmotic Learning
"Much of the education at the beginning here is rather osmotic," explained Adam.
It's by means of this natural absorption that the family are expecting the child will pick up the UK customs they aim to cultivate.
He noted the tutor had to be somebody who studied at "the appropriate educational institutions – comparable categories of schools as the family hope to send their son to".
"The tutor just has to be the appropriate candidate, they'll be carrying out things they aren't even aware they're doing, simply by nature," he added.
Cost Not Relevant
The family explained to Adam the successful candidate should ideally also have understanding of or passion in horse riding, skiing, the arts and instrumental training so as to influence the child in a wide range of interests.
Additionally though, he stated the family wanted the tutor to register the child on a range of lessons so the child would be "pony-riding and picking up an tool by the time they are about three years old".
In the family's view, guiding their son grow into a "UK sophisticate" will lead to success and open doors.
"Taking into account the advantages and disadvantages of that, because it's certainly a class statement," he adds.
However, notwithstanding all this tutelage in "English culture", might the child adopt alleged cultural leaning from the multicultural family he resides with in any case?
"Absolutely", said Adam. "The family understand this could fail, but they've simply adopted the attitude of, 'why not attempt it and we'll proceed as early as we can', because the price of it is not relevant," he explained.
Idealistic and Unrealistic
There are some in the education sector who express those reservations.
An education leader, chief executive of an educational organization, who also offer personal educators, commented that "the development of embracing two identities, or actually, becoming oneself, is something that must be experienced personally, not engineered."
The expert explained that he had relocated from China to the Britain at the time of childhood, and had been raised understanding and embodying dual heritages. He progressed to study at Cambridge University.
"The notion that a single person can act as a embodiment of Britishness, an individual who can in some way impart the qualities of a British gentleman to a infant child, appears idealistic and unfeasible," he commented.
"Based on my background, employing a distinctly English tutor from babyhood will will not automatically achieve the result they want.
"I did not have such a tutor, and yet I have been privileged enough to experience numerous of the experiences they aspire for their son."
He stated: "The fact is, cultural identity cannot be forced from the outside; it must be embraced, and it must originate internally."
Acquiring Englishness
Naturally, Britishness is something the expert hopes can be instructed – and marketed.
"I believe the fact that the global community views us in this regard is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
