"A family residing in North London wants to find an remarkable and qualified educator to support their smallest child on his early path to turning into an British gentleman."
Looking at this post, you might readily miss the phrase "initial stages" as just an expression.
Yet, it may be the crucial aspect of this distinctive employment listing, as it aims to recruit a mentor for a one-year-old.
Hundreds of applications have already been submitted since the anonymous family published their request for the £180k-a-year tutor, who needs to be "an exceptional individual".
In recent few weeks, the listing has attracted interest throughout the press, with several asking why?
Forward-Thinking Method
The CEO, chief executive of Tutors International, which is helping the family in their quest, said that in spite of initial doubt, he considered the idea "forward-looking", and "advanced".
When he consulted the family, he noted they recognized the unconventional nature of their requirement, and how early in age their son is.
Nevertheless, they stated that they "preferred not to postpone any longer" to hire a tutor, as they had held off until their elder sibling was five, and by that stage "cultural conditioning had already taken hold".
But what did the family mean by "cultural predisposition"?
It's "all-encompassing", Adam responded. "The manner you eat, the way you speak".
He stated the firstborn had absorbed "very nuanced, non-verbal cues" from the family, and had taken on their cultural norms. The family explained to Adam they did not want history to repeat itself with their infant.
The strategy: To engage a British tutor, who needs to speak with Received Pronunciation, to guide the baby from day one.
Subtle Influence
"A great deal of the learning at the outset here is rather osmotic," stated the CEO.
It's through this osmosis that the family are aiming the child will acquire the English characteristics they aim to impart.
The consultant noted the tutor must be someone who went to "prestigious academies – the same kinds of schools as the family aspire to send their son to".
"The educator just has to be the suitable individual, they'll be performing things they may not realize they're doing, simply by nature," he commented.
Expense Not a Factor
The family informed the expert the selected educator should ideally also have familiarity of or interest in equestrian activities, skiing, artistic pursuits and instrumental training so as to shape the child in a broad spectrum of hobbies.
Additionally though, he stated the family desired the tutor to enrol the child on a variety of classes so the child would be "pony-riding and picking up an tool by the time they are about three years old".
In the family's perspective, assisting their son grow into a "UK sophisticate" will result in success and provide access.
"Considering the advantages and disadvantages of that, because it's undoubtedly a class statement," he notes.
However, notwithstanding all this instruction in "Britishness", would the child pick up what is termed cultural influence from the international family he resides with in any case?
"Yes", said he. "The parents realize this may not work, but they've just taken the attitude of, 'we should try and let's go as quickly as we can', because the cost of it is irrelevant," he explained.
Idealistic and Unrealistic
Several in the tutoring industry who express similar concerns.
An education leader, head and founder of a tutoring service, who also offer private tutors, stated that "the process of embracing two identities, or actually, discovering oneself, is something that must be grown into, not designed."
The expert explained that he had emigrated from China to the Britain at the period of childhood, and had been brought up knowing and practicing dual heritages. He continued to learn at a prestigious UK institution.
"The concept that a single person can act as a embodiment of UK identity, someone who can somehow impart the attributes of a British gentleman to a 12-month-old child, strikes me as naive and unrealistic," he wrote.
"From my perspective, employing a distinctly UK tutor from early childhood will not instantly create the outcome they want.
"I did not have such a figure, and yet I have been fortunate enough to experience many of the experiences they desire for their son."
He added: "The truth is, cultural identity can not be dictated from the outside; it must be chosen, and it must originate internally."
Buying Britishness
Certainly, English culture is something Adam hopes can be educated – and sold.
"In my view the situation that the global community holds us in this light is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
