"A household residing in north London is looking for an remarkable and skilled tutor to assist their most junior child on his first steps to becoming an English gentleman."
When reading this listing, you might easily skip the phrase "first-steps" as mere a turn of phrase.
However, it could be the crucial element of this distinctive employment listing, as it aims to recruit a teacher for a 12-month-old.
Many of submissions have now been submitted since the anonymous family published their search for the £180k-a-year tutor, who needs to be "someone very special".
During the past few weeks, the advert has attracted notice in the media, with many wondering why?
Innovative Idea
The CEO, head and founder of Tutors International, which is assisting the family in their quest, explained that notwithstanding first skepticism, he considered the idea "far sighted", and "progressive".
When he met the family, he noted they understood the unusual character of their demand, and how immature their son is.
Nevertheless, they explained that they "preferred not to postpone any longer" to engage a tutor, as they had held off until their firstborn was five, and by that stage "cultural influence had by then taken hold".
But what does the family indicate by "cultural predisposition"?
It's "comprehensive", the expert replied. "The manner you eat, the manner you speak".
He stated the older sibling had absorbed "very nuanced, unspoken signals" from the family, and had adopted their cultural habits. The family told Adam they hoped to prevent the same situation to repeat itself with their infant.
The strategy: To bring in a English tutor, who should speak with Received Pronunciation, to influence the baby from day one.
Natural Absorption
"A lot of the learning at the beginning here is somewhat acquired indirectly," explained the expert.
It's through this subtle influence that the family are aiming the child will adopt the British traits they aim to instil.
Adam said the tutor had to be somebody who attended "the appropriate educational institutions – the same kinds of schools as the family aspire to send their son to".
"The tutor simply needs to be the suitable individual, they'll be performing things they may not realize they're doing, simply by nature," he added.
Expense Not a Factor
The family told him the chosen tutor should ideally also have understanding of or passion in equestrian activities, alpine skiing, artistic pursuits and music so as to influence the child in a broad spectrum of hobbies.
Furthermore though, he explained the family wanted the tutor to register the child on a range of courses so the child would be "horseback riding and picking up an instrument by the time they are approximately three years old".
In the family's perspective, helping their son grow into a "English gentleman" will result in success and create opportunities.
"For all the rights and wrongs of that, because it's certainly a social class indicator," he adds.
Yet, despite all this tutelage in "English culture", would the child absorb alleged cultural influence from the globally influenced family he is raised by in any case?
"Yes", replied Adam. "The family realize this could fail, but they've just taken the perspective of, 'why not attempt it and let's go as quickly as we can', because the cost of it is not a concern," he said.
Idealistic and Unrealistic
Several in the private teaching field who have similar reservations.
Peter Cui, head and founder of a tutoring service, who provides personal educators, commented that "the process of embracing two identities, or indeed, discovering oneself, is something that must be grown into, not engineered."
The expert explained that he had emigrated from the Far East to the United Kingdom at the period of 7 years old, and had been educated knowing and living two backgrounds. He continued to be educated at the University of Cambridge.
"The idea that a single person can serve as a embodiment of Britishness, someone who can in some way impart the qualities of a British gentleman onto a one-year-old child, appears naive and unrealistic," he commented.
"From my perspective, employing a typically British tutor from babyhood will not necessarily achieve the outcome they want.
"I never had that kind of mentor, and nevertheless I have been privileged enough to experience several of the experiences they hope for their son."
He stated: "The reality is, cultural identity should not be dictated from the outside; it must be selected, and it must come from within."
Purchasing UK Culture
Naturally, Britishness is something Adam hopes can be educated – and commercialized.
"In my view the fact that the global community holds us in this light is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
