"A family based in the northern part of London wants to find an exceptional and experienced tutor to guide their most junior child on his first steps to growing into an British gentleman."
Looking at this advertisement, you might easily overlook the wording "beginning" as just a turn of phrase.
However, it could be the most significant aspect of this unusual position posting, as it seeks to find a mentor for a one-year-old.
Numerous of responses have already been sent in since the unidentified family posted their search for the highly paid tutor, who must be "an exceptional individual".
Over the last few weeks, the post has gained attention across the press, with many questioning why?
Progressive Approach
The CEO, CEO and founder of a global tutoring firm, which is assisting the family in their search, said that in spite of initial skepticism, he viewed the concept "far sighted", and "progressive".
When he consulted the family, he mentioned they understood the unconventional character of their requirement, and how young their son is.
Nevertheless, they stated that they "preferred not to postpone any longer" to hire a tutor, as they had waited until their firstborn was five, and by that point "cultural bias had already taken hold".
What precisely does the family indicate by "cultural leaning"?
It's "comprehensive", he answered. "The manner you eat, the way you speak".
He said the firstborn had adopted "really subtle, unspoken signals" from the family, and had adopted their cultural ways. The family explained to Adam they hoped to prevent the same situation to repeat itself with their younger child.
The plan: To engage a English tutor, who needs to speak with RP, to influence the baby right from the beginning.
Osmotic Learning
"Much of the learning at the outset here is somewhat acquired indirectly," said the expert.
It's through this osmosis that the family are aiming the child will acquire the British traits they wish to impart.
Adam noted the tutor must be an individual who attended "prestigious academies – the same kinds of schools as the family aspire to send their son to".
"The educator just has to be the appropriate candidate, they'll be doing things they may not realize they're doing, simply by nature," he commented.
Expense Not a Factor
The family told the expert the selected educator should ideally also have familiarity of or passion in horse riding, winter sports, the arts and music so as to shape the child in a diverse set of interests.
More than that though, he stated the family desired the tutor to register the child on a range of classes so the child would be "horseback riding and starting an instrument by the time they are about three years old".
In the family's perspective, guiding their son become a "UK sophisticate" will bring about success and create opportunities.
"For all the pros and cons of that, because it's definitely a status symbol," he adds.
However, despite all this tutelage in "UK identity", would the child pick up what is termed cultural leaning from the multicultural family he lives with regardless?
"Yes", replied Adam. "The parents understand this might not succeed, but they've merely embraced the perspective of, 'we should try 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 tutoring industry who express those doubts.
Another CEO, chief executive of a tutoring service, who also offer private tutors, stated that "the development of becoming bicultural, or indeed, forming one's identity, is something that must be lived into, not engineered."
The expert wrote that he had relocated from Asia to the United Kingdom at the age of 7 years old, and had been brought up knowing and embodying dual heritages. He continued to learn at the University of Cambridge.
"The notion that a single person can function as a embodiment of Britishness, an individual who can possibly transplant the characteristics of a English gentleman to a 12-month-old child, seems to me idealistic and unrealistic," he stated.
"Based on my background, engaging a quintessentially UK tutor from infancy will does not automatically produce the outcome they hope for.
"I wasn't provided with that kind of mentor, and nevertheless I have been privileged enough to enjoy many of the experiences they aspire for their son."
He stated: "The reality is, self-identity should not be forced from the outside; it must be embraced, and it must be internally driven."
Acquiring Englishness
Naturally, UK identity is something the CEO hopes can be taught – and sold.
"In my view the reality that the global community holds us in this respect is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
