"A family based in north London seeks an remarkable and experienced instructor to assist their most junior child on his early path to becoming an British gentleman."
Upon seeing this post, you might naturally overlook the phrase "beginning" as simple figurative language.
But, it may be the crucial part of this unique position posting, as it attempts to recruit a mentor for a one-year-old.
Many of submissions have since been submitted since the unnamed family advertised their search for the £180k-a-year tutor, who has to be "someone very special".
During the past few weeks, the advert has gained notice throughout the news, with several asking why?
Forward-Thinking Method
A tutoring expert, chief executive of Tutors International, which is assisting the family in their quest, explained that notwithstanding initial skepticism, he found the concept "visionary", and "innovative".
When he met the family, he mentioned they understood the unusual nature of their request, and how early in age their son is.
But, they clarified that they "were unwilling to delay any longer" to engage a tutor, as they had waited until their older child was five, and by that age "cultural bias had already set in".
But what does the family indicate by "cultural bias"?
It's "all-encompassing", the expert replied. "The way you eat, how you speak".
He said the elder child had absorbed "very nuanced, body language" from the family, and had adopted their cultural ways. The family explained to Adam they wished to avoid history to recur with their new baby.
The intention: To bring in a UK tutor, who needs to speak with RP, to shape the baby right from the beginning.
Osmotic Learning
"A lot of the learning at the start here is somewhat acquired indirectly," said Adam.
It's via this natural absorption that the family are expecting the child will acquire the English characteristics they aim to cultivate.
The consultant noted the tutor must be an individual who went to "the appropriate educational institutions – the same kinds of schools as the family plan to send their son to".
"The educator must be the appropriate candidate, they'll be doing things they may not realize they're doing, simply by nature," he added.
Expense Not a Factor
The family informed Adam the selected educator should ideally also have familiarity of or passion in equestrian activities, alpine skiing, the arts and music so as to inspire the child in a diverse set of hobbies.
More than that though, he said the family hoped the tutor to register the child on a variety of lessons so the child would be "equestrian training and starting an tool by the time they are about three years old".
In the family's minds, guiding their son grow into a "British gentleman" will result in accomplishment and create opportunities.
"For all the pros and cons of that, because it's definitely a status symbol," he notes.
Yet, despite all this tutelage in "Britishness", would the child adopt what is termed cultural leaning from the international family he is raised by anyway?
"Absolutely", replied Adam. "The parents know this could fail, but they've simply adopted the perspective of, 'why not attempt it and we'll proceed as early as we can', because the cost of it is not a concern," he said.
Overly Optimistic
There are some in the tutoring industry who share similar reservations.
Another CEO, head and founder of a tutoring service, who supplies individual instructors, wrote that "the development of embracing two identities, or in fact, forming one's identity, is something that must be grown into, not manufactured."
The expert explained that he had relocated from China to the UK at the time of seven, and had been educated understanding and embodying both cultures. He progressed to learn at Cambridge University.
"The idea that one individual can function as a embodiment of English culture, an individual who can in some way transplant the attributes of a British gentleman onto a one-year-old child, strikes me as naive and impractical," he wrote.
"Based on my background, having a typically English tutor from early childhood will will not instantly achieve the result they want.
"I wasn't provided with such a figure, and yet I have been privileged enough to enjoy many of the experiences they hope for their son."
He stated: "The truth is, self-identity can not be forced from the external environment; it must be selected, and it must be internally driven."
Purchasing UK Culture
Naturally, Britishness is something the expert believes can be educated – and commercialized.
"I think the situation that the global community views us in this light is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
