"A household located in north London seeks an remarkable and skilled educator to guide their youngest child on his initial journey to becoming an English gentleman."
When reading this listing, you might easily miss the term "initial stages" as just figurative language.
But, it may be the crucial part of this unusual position posting, as it attempts to recruit a tutor for a infant.
Hundreds of responses have already been sent in since the unnamed family advertised their request for the £180k-a-year tutor, who must be "someone very special".
In recent few weeks, the advert has received attention in the media, with several questioning why?
Forward-Thinking Method
The CEO, CEO and founder of a global tutoring firm, which is helping the family in their search, said that notwithstanding first doubt, he found the plan "visionary", and "progressive".
When he met the family, he noted they understood the atypical nature of their requirement, and how early in age their son is.
Nevertheless, they explained that they "were unwilling to delay any longer" to hire a tutor, as they had waited until their elder sibling was five, and by that age "cultural conditioning had already become established".
What exactly does the family indicate by "cultural leaning"?
It's "comprehensive", the expert responded. "How you eat, how you speak".
He said the older sibling had absorbed "really subtle, non-verbal cues" from the family, and had assumed their cultural norms. The family explained to him they did not want the same situation to repeat itself with their younger child.
The intention: To hire a British tutor, who needs to speak with RP, to guide the baby from the very start.
Natural Absorption
"A great deal of the development at the beginning here is rather osmotic," said Adam.
It's through this subtle influence that the family are hoping the child will acquire the English characteristics they wish to impart.
The consultant explained the tutor had to be an individual who studied at "the right kinds of schools – similar types of schools as the family aspire to send their son to".
"The instructor just has to be the appropriate candidate, they'll be doing things they may not realize they're doing, simply by nature," he commented.
Cost Not Relevant
The family informed the expert the successful candidate should preferably also have familiarity of or interest in equestrian activities, skiing, artistic pursuits and instrumental training so as to influence the child in a broad spectrum of interests.
More than that though, he stated the family desired the tutor to enrol the child on a selection of lessons so the child would be "horseback riding and starting an instrument by the time they are about three years old".
In the family's view, helping their son develop into a "English gentleman" will bring about achievement and open doors.
"Considering the rights and wrongs of that, because it's definitely a social class indicator," he notes.
Yet, notwithstanding all this instruction in "Britishness", could the child adopt alleged cultural bias from the multicultural family he lives with anyway?
"Certainly", said the CEO. "The parents understand this could fail, but they've simply adopted the attitude of, 'we should try and we should start as early as we can', because the expense of it is not a concern," he stated.
Idealistic and Unrealistic
There are some in the education sector who share these doubts.
An education leader, head and founder of Blue Education, who also offer personal educators, stated that "the journey of adopting dual cultures, or actually, forming one's identity, is something that must be lived into, not designed."
He explained that he had moved from the Far East to the Britain at the age of seven, and had been brought up knowing and practicing dual heritages. He went on to study at a prestigious UK institution.
"The concept that a single person can function as a living vessel of English culture, a person who can in some way transfer the qualities of a UK sophisticate upon a infant child, seems to me optimistic and unfeasible," he commented.
"From my perspective, engaging a distinctly UK tutor from babyhood will will not necessarily produce the goal they want.
"I wasn't provided with such a tutor, and however I have been privileged enough to experience numerous of the opportunities they aspire for their son."
He added: "The fact is, cultural identity cannot be dictated from the external environment; it must be embraced, and it must come from within."
Acquiring Englishness
Naturally, English culture is something Adam believes can be educated – and commercialized.
"I believe the situation that the world holds us in this light is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
