"A family residing in the northern part of London seeks an extraordinary and skilled instructor to support their most junior child on his early path to turning into an English gentleman."
When reading this listing, you might naturally miss the wording "beginning" as mere an expression.
But, it could be the most significant aspect of this distinctive employment listing, as it aims to hire a tutor for a infant.
Hundreds of applications have now been received since the unidentified family posted their request for the highly paid tutor, who must be "a uniquely qualified person".
During the past few weeks, the listing has received interest across the press, with many wondering why?
Innovative Idea
A tutoring expert, CEO and founder of an education consultancy, which is supporting the family in their hunt, said that despite initial skepticism, he viewed the idea "forward-looking", and "advanced".
When he consulted the family, he noted they recognized the atypical character of their request, and how young their son is.
However, they stated that they "didn't want to wait any longer" to get a tutor, as they had postponed until their older child was five, and by that point "cultural bias had already become established".
What precisely does the family indicate by "cultural predisposition"?
It's "comprehensive", Adam replied. "The manner you eat, how you speak".
He explained the firstborn had absorbed "really subtle, unspoken signals" from the family, and had taken on their cultural norms. The family informed Adam they hoped to prevent history to happen again with their new baby.
The strategy: To hire a UK tutor, who must speak with standard English accent, to shape the baby right from the beginning.
Natural Absorption
"A lot of the education at the outset here is rather acquired indirectly," explained the expert.
It's by means of this osmosis that the family are aiming the child will acquire the British traits they want to instil.
The consultant explained the tutor needed to be an individual who attended "prestigious academies – the same kinds of schools as the family aspire to send their son to".
"The tutor just has to be the right kind of person, they'll be performing things they don't even know they're doing, just naturally," he commented.
Cost Not Relevant
The family told him the selected educator should ideally also have understanding of or interest in equestrian activities, alpine skiing, the arts and music so as to inspire the child in a diverse set of interests.
Furthermore though, he stated the family hoped the tutor to register the child on a selection of courses so the child would be "pony-riding and starting an instrument by the time they are approximately three years old".
In the family's view, assisting their son become a "English gentleman" will lead to success and provide access.
"For all the advantages and disadvantages of that, because it's undoubtedly a class statement," he adds.
Yet, despite all this guidance in "English culture", would the child adopt what is termed cultural bias from the globally influenced family he lives with anyway?
"Absolutely", said he. "The parents know this might not succeed, but they've simply adopted the perspective of, 'let's give it a go and we should start as quickly as we can', because the cost of it is not a concern," he said.
Impractical
Several in the education sector who share similar concerns.
Another CEO, chief executive of Blue Education, who provides personal educators, stated that "the journey of becoming bicultural, or indeed, becoming oneself, is something that must be lived into, not engineered."
He wrote that he had emigrated from China to the UK at the age of childhood, and had been raised understanding and practicing both cultures. He progressed to be educated at a prestigious UK institution.
"The idea that one individual can act as a representation of English culture, an individual who can somehow transfer the characteristics of a UK sophisticate to a 12-month-old child, appears idealistic and unfeasible," he stated.
"In my experience, employing a distinctly British tutor from early childhood will will not instantly create the goal they want.
"I never had such a tutor, and nevertheless I have been lucky enough to experience numerous of the opportunities they desire for their son."
He added: "The fact is, self-identity cannot be dictated from the external environment; it must be selected, and it must come from within."
Purchasing UK Culture
Of course, Britishness is something the expert thinks can be taught – and marketed.
"I think the reality that the international society views us in this respect is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
