"Parents based in North London seeks an exceptional and qualified instructor to guide their smallest child on his initial journey to growing into an British gentleman."
When reading this post, you might easily miss the wording "initial stages" as simple an expression.
However, it may be the most important aspect of this distinctive employment listing, as it attempts to recruit a mentor for a 12-month-old.
Many of submissions have since been sent in since the unidentified family published their request for the highly paid tutor, who needs to be "someone very special".
Over the last few weeks, the listing has received attention across the news, with several asking why?
Forward-Thinking Method
A tutoring expert, chief executive of an education consultancy, which is supporting the family in their search, stated that notwithstanding initial scepticism, he considered the idea "far sighted", and "innovative".
When he met the family, he mentioned they recognized the atypical nature of their request, and how immature their son is.
Nevertheless, they clarified that they "preferred not to postpone any longer" to get a tutor, as they had waited until their elder sibling was five, and by that point "cultural conditioning had already taken hold".
But what did the family mean by "cultural leaning"?
It's "comprehensive", he answered. "The manner you eat, how you speak".
He said the older sibling had adopted "very nuanced, body language" from the family, and had assumed their cultural norms. The family told the consultant they did not want history to happen again with their new baby.
The plan: To bring in a British tutor, who should speak with standard English accent, to influence the baby from day one.
Osmotic Learning
"A lot of the learning at the start here is rather acquired indirectly," stated the expert.
It's through this osmosis that the family are hoping the child will pick up the English characteristics they want to cultivate.
Adam said the tutor must be someone 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 doing things they may not realize they're doing, just naturally," he said.
Cost Not Relevant
The family explained to Adam the chosen tutor should preferably also have familiarity of or passion in horse riding, winter sports, the arts and musical activities so as to influence the child in a broad spectrum of interests.
More than that though, he said the family desired the tutor to register the child on a selection of classes so the child would be "pony-riding and starting an musical instrument by the time they are approximately three years old".
In the family's minds, guiding their son develop into a "English gentleman" will lead to achievement and create opportunities.
"For all the pros and cons of that, because it's definitely a social class indicator," he notes.
However, despite all this instruction in "UK identity", might the child adopt so-called cultural influence from the international family he is raised by regardless?
"Absolutely", replied Adam. "The parents know this might not succeed, but they've just taken the attitude of, 'we should try and we'll proceed as quickly as we can', because the price of it is not relevant," he stated.
Impractical
A number of in the private teaching field who have these reservations.
Peter Cui, CEO and founder of an educational organization, who supplies individual instructors, commented that "the development of becoming bicultural, or indeed, discovering oneself, is something that must be grown into, not manufactured."
The expert noted that he had relocated from China to the United Kingdom at the period of seven, and had been raised experiencing and living both cultures. He progressed to study at a prestigious UK institution.
"The notion that an individual can function as a representation of English culture, a person who can in some way transfer the characteristics of a English gentleman upon a one-year-old child, seems to me idealistic and unfeasible," he wrote.
"Based on my background, having a distinctly British tutor from early childhood will will not automatically achieve the result they want.
"I did not have that kind of mentor, and yet I have been privileged enough to live many of the opportunities they hope for their son."
He continued: "The reality is, self-identity cannot be forced from the outside influences; it must be selected, and it must be internally driven."
Acquiring Englishness
Of course, Britishness is something the expert hopes can be taught – and marketed.
"I think the fact that the world regards us in this respect is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
