"A household located in the northern part of London wants to find an exceptional and experienced instructor to guide their most junior child on his early path to becoming an British gentleman."
When reading this post, you might naturally overlook the phrase "beginning" as mere a turn of phrase.
But, it might be the most important element of this unusual position posting, as it seeks to recruit a tutor for a one-year-old.
Hundreds of applications have now been submitted since the anonymous family published their call for the highly paid tutor, who needs to be "someone very special".
In recent few weeks, the listing has gained notice in the media, with numerous wondering why?
Progressive Approach
A tutoring expert, head and founder of Tutors International, which is supporting the family in their search, explained that notwithstanding first skepticism, he considered the plan "far sighted", and "advanced".
When he met the family, he noted they appreciated the unusual nature of their requirement, and how immature their son is.
Nevertheless, they stated that they "preferred not to postpone any longer" to hire a tutor, as they had postponed until their elder sibling was five, and by that stage "cultural conditioning had by then set in".
But what did the family refer to by "cultural bias"?
It's "comprehensive", he replied. "The way you eat, how you speak".
He stated the firstborn had adopted "very nuanced, unspoken signals" from the family, and had taken on their cultural ways. The family told Adam they hoped to prevent the same situation to happen again with their new baby.
The intention: To hire a UK tutor, who must speak with RP, to shape the baby from the very start.
Osmotic Learning
"Much of the education at the outset here is somewhat acquired indirectly," stated the CEO.
It's by means of this natural absorption that the family are hoping the child will adopt the UK customs they wish to cultivate.
He explained the tutor needed to be somebody who attended "the right kinds of schools – comparable categories of schools as the family aspire to send their son to".
"The tutor simply needs to be the appropriate candidate, they'll be carrying out things they may not realize they're doing, effortlessly," he added.
Cost Not Relevant
The family told Adam the chosen tutor should preferably also have understanding of or enthusiasm in riding, skiing, the arts and musical activities 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 "pony-riding and picking up an musical instrument by the time they are around three years old".
In the family's minds, assisting their son develop into a "UK sophisticate" will result in achievement and open doors.
"Considering the pros and cons of that, because it's certainly a status symbol," he notes.
However, despite all this tutelage in "English culture", would the child absorb so-called cultural bias from the globally influenced family he resides with regardless?
"Certainly", said the CEO. "They realize this could fail, but they've simply adopted the attitude of, 'we should try and we'll proceed as soon as we can', because the expense of it is not relevant," he said.
Impractical
There are some in the private teaching field who express these reservations.
An education leader, head and founder of a tutoring service, who provides private tutors, commented that "the process of embracing two identities, or actually, forming one's identity, is something that must be experienced personally, not designed."
Peter explained that he had relocated from the Far East to the UK at the age of childhood, and had been raised experiencing and living two backgrounds. He went on to learn at a prestigious UK institution.
"The idea that an individual can serve as a representation of UK identity, someone who can somehow transplant the qualities of a English gentleman upon a 12-month-old child, strikes me as optimistic and impractical," he wrote.
"In my experience, having a distinctly British tutor from early childhood will does not instantly create the outcome they desire.
"I did not have such a tutor, and however I have been privileged enough to enjoy many of the opportunities they desire for their son."
He continued: "The truth is, self-identity cannot be imposed from the outside influences; it must be chosen, and it must be internally driven."
Buying Britishness
Certainly, English culture is something the expert thinks can be taught – and commercialized.
"I think the fact that the global community regards us in this regard is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
