"A family based in North London wants to find an remarkable and skilled instructor to support their most junior child on his first steps to turning into an English gentleman."
Upon seeing this post, you might readily miss the phrase "initial stages" as just figurative language.
However, it could be the most significant element of this unusual job advert, as it attempts to hire a mentor for a one-year-old.
Numerous of responses have now been sent in since the unnamed family published their request for the £180k-a-year tutor, who needs to be "a uniquely qualified person".
During the past few weeks, the post has attracted attention in the news, with many asking why?
Progressive Approach
The CEO, head and founder of Tutors International, which is assisting the family in their hunt, explained that in spite of early doubt, he viewed the plan "forward-looking", and "progressive".
When he met the family, he mentioned they appreciated the unconventional character of their demand, and how early in age their son is.
But, they stated that they "preferred not to postpone any longer" to get a tutor, as they had waited until their firstborn was five, and by that stage "cultural bias had by then become established".
What exactly does the family refer to by "cultural predisposition"?
It's "all-encompassing", he answered. "How you eat, the way you speak".
He said the firstborn had picked up "very nuanced, non-verbal cues" from the family, and had adopted their cultural ways. The family told Adam they wished to avoid history to recur with their younger child.
The strategy: To engage a British tutor, who must speak with standard English accent, to shape the baby right from the beginning.
Natural Absorption
"A great deal of the learning at the beginning here is kind of absorbed naturally," explained the expert.
It's via this osmosis that the family are expecting the child will adopt the UK customs they want to cultivate.
He noted the tutor needed to be someone who went to "prestigious academies – similar types of schools as the family plan to send their son to".
"The tutor simply needs to be the appropriate candidate, they'll be doing things they may not realize they're doing, just naturally," he said.
Money No Object
The family explained to Adam the selected educator should ideally also have understanding of or enthusiasm in riding, skiing, creative fields and music so as to inspire the child in a diverse set of passions.
Additionally though, he stated the family desired the tutor to sign up the child on a variety of courses so the child would be "horseback riding and picking up an tool by the time they are around three years old".
In the family's view, helping their son grow into a "British gentleman" will lead to accomplishment and open doors.
"Considering the rights and wrongs of that, because it's undoubtedly a status symbol," he notes.
But, notwithstanding all this instruction in "English culture", would the child adopt what is termed cultural influence from the globally influenced family he resides with in any case?
"Certainly", replied the CEO. "They understand this may not work, but they've merely embraced the attitude of, 'let's give it a go and let's go as quickly as we can', because the cost of it is not a concern," he said.
Impractical
There are some in the education sector who have similar doubts.
Another CEO, head and founder of an educational organization, who provides individual instructors, wrote that "the journey of becoming bicultural, or in fact, forming one's identity, is something that must be experienced personally, not engineered."
The expert explained that he had emigrated from the Far East to the United Kingdom at the age of childhood, and had been educated understanding and living dual heritages. He went on to be educated at a prestigious UK institution.
"The idea that a single person can act as a representation of English culture, an individual who can in some way transfer the characteristics of a British gentleman to a 12-month-old child, strikes me as naive and unrealistic," he wrote.
"From my perspective, having a typically UK tutor from infancy will will not automatically create the outcome they want.
"I did not have such a tutor, and however I have been fortunate enough to experience many of the opportunities they desire for their son."
He stated: "The fact is, cultural identity cannot be forced from the external environment; it must be chosen, and it must be internally driven."
Purchasing UK Culture
Certainly, UK identity is something the CEO thinks can be taught – and commercialized.
"I think the fact that the world holds us in this respect is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
