"Parents based in the northern part of London is looking for an remarkable and experienced tutor to guide their smallest child on his first steps to becoming an British gentleman."
Upon seeing this post, you might naturally skip the phrase "first-steps" as mere an expression.
However, it may be the most significant part of this distinctive job advert, as it seeks to hire a teacher for a one-year-old.
Numerous of applications have since been submitted since the anonymous family posted their call for the £180k-a-year tutor, who must be "someone very special".
Over the last few weeks, the listing has gained attention in the news, with numerous asking why?
Innovative Idea
The CEO, head and founder of Tutors International, which is helping the family in their quest, explained that in spite of early scepticism, he viewed the concept "forward-looking", and "progressive".
When he spoke with the family, he noted they appreciated the unusual aspect of their request, and how immature their son is.
But, they stated that they "didn't want to wait any longer" to get a tutor, as they had held off until their older child was five, and by that stage "cultural influence had already taken hold".
What precisely did the family refer to by "cultural bias"?
It's "all-encompassing", Adam answered. "The manner you eat, the way you speak".
He explained the firstborn had picked up "really subtle, body language" from the family, and had adopted their cultural norms. The family explained to him they hoped to prevent this pattern to happen again with their new baby.
The plan: To bring in a English tutor, who must speak with standard English accent, to influence the baby right from the beginning.
Subtle Influence
"Much of the education at the start here is somewhat absorbed naturally," explained Adam.
It's via this natural absorption that the family are expecting the child will adopt the UK customs they wish to instil.
Adam explained the tutor needed to be someone who attended "prestigious academies – comparable categories of schools as the family hope to send their son to".
"The tutor must be the right kind of person, they'll be doing things they may not realize they're doing, just naturally," he said.
Money No Object
The family told him the successful candidate should preferably also have understanding of or passion in equestrian activities, skiing, the arts and instrumental training so as to inspire the child in a broad spectrum of interests.
Additionally though, he stated the family desired the tutor to enrol the child on a range of lessons 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 become a "British gentleman" will lead to achievement and provide access.
"For all the advantages and disadvantages of that, because it's certainly a social class indicator," he adds.
But, notwithstanding all this guidance in "Britishness", would the child adopt alleged cultural influence from the globally influenced family he resides with regardless?
"Certainly", answered Adam. "The parents know this may not work, but they've merely embraced the view of, 'we should try and we should start as soon as we can', because the price of it is not a concern," he explained.
Overly Optimistic
A number of in the private teaching field who share those reservations.
Another CEO, CEO and founder of Blue Education, who provides private tutors, stated that "the process of embracing two identities, or indeed, discovering oneself, is something that must be grown into, not manufactured."
The expert wrote that he had moved from China to the United Kingdom at the time of seven, and had been raised knowing and living dual heritages. He continued to learn at the University of Cambridge.
"The notion that a single person can act as a embodiment of Britishness, a person who can somehow transplant the qualities of a UK sophisticate onto a 12-month-old child, strikes me as idealistic and impractical," he wrote.
"In my experience, employing a distinctly UK tutor from early childhood will does not necessarily achieve the outcome they hope for.
"I wasn't provided with such a figure, and yet I have been privileged enough to live many of the experiences they aspire for their son."
He stated: "The truth is, self-identity can not be dictated from the external environment; it must be selected, and it must originate internally."
Buying Britishness
Of course, UK identity is something Adam hopes can be instructed – and commercialized.
"I believe the reality that the world views us in this light is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
