"Parents residing in the northern part of London seeks an extraordinary and experienced instructor to support their youngest child on his initial journey to turning into an British gentleman."
When reading this advertisement, you might easily miss the term "initial stages" as just figurative language.
Yet, it may be the most important element of this unusual position posting, as it attempts to recruit a mentor for a 12-month-old.
Hundreds of submissions have since been submitted since the anonymous family published their call for the £180,000 per year tutor, who must be "someone very special".
Over the last few weeks, the advert has attracted notice throughout the press, with numerous questioning why?
Forward-Thinking Method
The CEO, head and founder of a global tutoring firm, which is helping the family in their search, stated that despite early scepticism, he found the idea "visionary", and "advanced".
When he spoke with the family, he noted they understood the unusual character of their requirement, and how young their son is.
But, they stated 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 conditioning had already become established".
But what does the family refer to by "cultural predisposition"?
It's "everything", he responded. "The manner you eat, the manner you speak".
He stated the older sibling had adopted "extremely delicate, unspoken signals" from the family, and had taken on their cultural norms. The family told Adam they did not want the same situation to repeat itself with their new baby.
The strategy: To hire a British tutor, who needs to speak with RP, to influence the baby right from the beginning.
Osmotic Learning
"A lot of the education at the beginning here is somewhat absorbed naturally," stated Adam.
It's by means of this osmosis that the family are hoping the child will pick up the UK customs they aim to impart.
The consultant said the tutor must be an individual who studied at "the appropriate educational institutions – similar types of schools as the family hope to send their son to".
"The educator must be the suitable individual, they'll be carrying out things they don't even know they're doing, simply by nature," he added.
Money No Object
The family explained to Adam the chosen tutor should preferably also have understanding of or interest in riding, alpine skiing, creative fields and instrumental training so as to inspire the child in a diverse set of hobbies.
More than that though, he explained the family wanted the tutor to sign up the child on a range of courses so the child would be "pony-riding and learning an tool by the time they are about three years old".
In the family's perspective, assisting their son grow into a "British gentleman" will result in achievement and create opportunities.
"Taking into account the rights and wrongs of that, because it's certainly a social class indicator," he adds.
Yet, notwithstanding all this guidance in "UK identity", would the child adopt what is termed cultural influence from the globally influenced family he lives with in any case?
"Yes", replied he. "They understand this may not work, but they've merely embraced the perspective of, 'why not attempt it and we should start as quickly as we can', because the price of it is not a concern," he stated.
Overly Optimistic
There are some in the education sector who share these reservations.
Peter Cui, head and founder of an educational organization, who provides individual instructors, stated that "the journey of becoming bicultural, or actually, discovering oneself, is something that must be grown into, not designed."
He wrote that he had moved from the Far East to the UK at the time of seven, and had been raised knowing and practicing dual heritages. He continued to be educated at a prestigious UK institution.
"The notion that one individual can function as a embodiment of English culture, an individual who can somehow impart the qualities of a UK sophisticate onto a infant child, strikes me as naive and impractical," he stated.
"From my perspective, having a quintessentially UK tutor from infancy will not necessarily achieve the goal they desire.
"I did not have such a tutor, and yet I have been lucky enough to live several of the situations they desire for their son."
He added: "The truth is, self-identity can not be dictated from the outside; it must be embraced, and it must be internally driven."
Buying Britishness
Certainly, Britishness is something Adam thinks can be taught – and commercialized.
"I think the fact that the world regards us in this light is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
