"A household based in the northern part of London seeks an remarkable and qualified educator to support their smallest child on his early path to becoming an English gentleman."
Upon seeing this advertisement, you might readily skip the wording "beginning" as just a turn of phrase.
But, it might be the crucial element of this unusual employment listing, as it attempts to hire a mentor for a 12-month-old.
Hundreds of applications have now been received since the anonymous family published their request for the £180,000 per year tutor, who must be "a uniquely qualified person".
During the past few weeks, the listing has gained attention across the media, with several questioning why?
Innovative Idea
The CEO, chief executive of a global tutoring firm, which is helping the family in their search, stated that notwithstanding initial scepticism, he found the concept "far sighted", and "innovative".
When he spoke with the family, he noted they appreciated the unusual aspect of their request, and how early in age their son is.
Nevertheless, they clarified that they "were unwilling to delay any longer" to get a tutor, as they had waited until their firstborn was five, and by that age "cultural bias had already become established".
What exactly did the family refer to by "cultural predisposition"?
It's "everything", Adam replied. "The way you eat, how you speak".
He explained the firstborn had absorbed "extremely delicate, unspoken signals" from the family, and had assumed their cultural norms. The family informed the consultant they did not want the same situation to happen again with their new baby.
The strategy: To engage a British tutor, who should speak with standard English accent, to influence the baby from day one.
Subtle Influence
"A great deal of the learning at the beginning here is rather acquired indirectly," explained Adam.
It's via this subtle influence that the family are hoping the child will acquire the British traits they aim to impart.
Adam noted the tutor needed to be an individual who attended "the right kinds of schools – similar types of schools as the family plan to send their son to".
"The educator just has to be the right kind of person, they'll be performing things they may not realize they're doing, effortlessly," he said.
Expense Not a Factor
The family informed him the chosen tutor should ideally also have familiarity of or enthusiasm in equestrian activities, alpine skiing, the arts and music so as to influence the child in a diverse set of hobbies.
Furthermore though, he said the family wanted the tutor to enrol the child on a variety of lessons so the child would be "horseback riding and starting an tool by the time they are around three years old".
In the family's minds, assisting their son become a "English gentleman" will result in accomplishment and provide access.
"Considering the advantages and disadvantages of that, because it's undoubtedly a status symbol," he notes.
Yet, notwithstanding all this instruction in "English culture", could the child absorb so-called cultural bias from the multicultural family he lives with regardless?
"Certainly", replied Adam. "The parents understand this may not work, but they've merely embraced the perspective of, 'we should try and let's go as quickly as we can', because the price of it is not a concern," he said.
Idealistic and Unrealistic
A number of in the education sector who have similar concerns.
Peter Cui, CEO and founder of a tutoring service, who provides private tutors, wrote that "the journey of adopting dual cultures, or in fact, forming one's identity, is something that must be lived into, not engineered."
The expert wrote that he had emigrated from China to the United Kingdom at the age of seven, and had been raised knowing and practicing two backgrounds. He went on to learn at Cambridge University.
"The concept that a single person can act as a embodiment of UK identity, a person who can possibly transplant the attributes of a British gentleman to a infant child, strikes me as idealistic and impractical," he stated.
"In my experience, employing a typically British tutor from early childhood will not instantly produce the outcome they desire.
"I wasn't provided with such a tutor, and however I have been fortunate enough to experience numerous of the experiences they aspire for their son."
He added: "The fact is, cultural identity should not be imposed from the outside; it must be selected, and it must originate internally."
Acquiring Englishness
Certainly, UK identity is something the expert thinks can be educated – and commercialized.
"I believe the reality that the world views us in this light is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
