"Parents residing in north London seeks an remarkable and experienced educator to assist their youngest child on his initial journey to becoming an British gentleman."
Upon seeing this listing, you might readily miss the term "initial stages" as simple figurative language.
Yet, it might be the most important element of this unusual employment listing, as it aims to find a teacher for a one-year-old.
Hundreds of responses have since been sent in since the unidentified family advertised their call for the £180k-a-year tutor, who must be "a uniquely qualified person".
In recent few weeks, the listing has attracted attention throughout the press, with numerous questioning why?
Progressive Approach
The CEO, CEO and founder of an education consultancy, which is supporting the family in their search, explained that in spite of early doubt, he considered the plan "forward-looking", and "advanced".
When he spoke with the family, he mentioned they appreciated the unconventional character of their demand, and how young their son is.
But, they stated that they "were unwilling to delay any longer" to engage a tutor, as they had held off until their firstborn was five, and by that stage "cultural bias had already taken hold".
But what did the family indicate by "cultural bias"?
It's "comprehensive", the expert responded. "The way you eat, how you speak".
He explained the firstborn had absorbed "extremely delicate, non-verbal cues" from the family, and had adopted their cultural habits. The family informed Adam they did not want this pattern to repeat itself with their infant.
The plan: To bring in a English tutor, who must speak with RP, to guide the baby from the very start.
Osmotic Learning
"A great deal of the learning at the start here is rather absorbed naturally," said the expert.
It's through this natural absorption that the family are aiming the child will pick up the English characteristics they aim to cultivate.
The consultant explained the tutor needed to be somebody who studied at "the appropriate educational institutions – similar types of schools as the family plan to send their son to".
"The educator simply needs to be the appropriate candidate, they'll be performing things they don't even know they're doing, simply by nature," he said.
Expense Not a Factor
The family told him the successful candidate should ideally also have knowledge of or enthusiasm in equestrian activities, alpine skiing, artistic pursuits and music so as to influence the child in a broad spectrum of passions.
More than that though, he said the family hoped the tutor to register the child on a selection of classes so the child would be "equestrian training and picking up an tool by the time they are approximately three years old".
In the family's perspective, guiding their son develop into a "English gentleman" will result in achievement and create opportunities.
"For all the rights and wrongs of that, because it's undoubtedly a status symbol," he adds.
But, in spite of all this tutelage in "English culture", could the child absorb so-called cultural bias from the multicultural family he is raised by regardless?
"Yes", said Adam. "They realize this may not work, but they've just taken the attitude of, 'let's give it a go and let's go as early as we can', because the price of it is irrelevant," he stated.
Idealistic and Unrealistic
Several in the private teaching field who express those concerns.
Another CEO, CEO and founder of Blue Education, who provides individual instructors, commented that "the journey of adopting dual cultures, or actually, forming one's identity, is something that must be lived into, not engineered."
He wrote that he had emigrated from China to the Britain at the age of 7 years old, and had been educated experiencing and embodying dual heritages. He progressed to learn at Cambridge University.
"The concept that an individual can function as a living vessel of English culture, someone who can in some way impart the qualities of a British gentleman upon a one-year-old child, strikes me as optimistic and impractical," he stated.
"In my experience, employing a distinctly British tutor from babyhood will does not instantly create the outcome they desire.
"I did not have such a tutor, and however I have been fortunate enough to enjoy numerous of the opportunities they aspire for their son."
He added: "The truth is, personal identity should not be imposed from the outside influences; it must be embraced, and it must be internally driven."
Acquiring Englishness
Certainly, English culture is something the CEO believes can be educated – and sold.
"I think the fact that the global community holds us in this respect is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
