"A household residing in north London wants to find an extraordinary and experienced tutor to assist their most junior child on his early path to growing into an British gentleman."
Upon seeing this post, you might naturally overlook the wording "initial stages" as simple a turn of phrase.
But, it may be the most important element of this distinctive employment listing, as it aims to hire a tutor for a one-year-old.
Numerous of submissions have now been sent in since the anonymous family advertised their request for the £180k-a-year tutor, who has to be "a uniquely qualified person".
Over the last few weeks, the post has gained attention in the press, with several wondering why?
Forward-Thinking Method
A tutoring expert, CEO and founder of Tutors International, which is assisting the family in their search, explained that notwithstanding initial skepticism, he found the plan "forward-looking", and "advanced".
When he consulted the family, he mentioned they appreciated the atypical aspect of their request, and how immature their son is.
However, they clarified that they "were unwilling to delay any longer" to engage a tutor, as they had held off until their firstborn was five, and by that age "cultural bias had already taken hold".
But what does the family indicate by "cultural leaning"?
It's "all-encompassing", the expert responded. "How you eat, how you speak".
He said the firstborn had picked up "extremely delicate, body language" from the family, and had taken on their cultural ways. The family informed Adam they hoped to prevent the same situation to repeat itself with their new baby.
The plan: To hire a British tutor, who must speak with standard English accent, to influence the baby right from the beginning.
Osmotic Learning
"A lot of the learning at the start here is kind of osmotic," stated Adam.
It's by means of this osmosis that the family are expecting the child will pick up the British traits they wish to instil.
He said the tutor had to be an individual who attended "the appropriate educational institutions – comparable categories of schools as the family plan to send their son to".
"The educator just has to be the appropriate candidate, they'll be carrying out things they aren't even aware they're doing, simply by nature," he added.
Cost Not Relevant
The family informed him the selected educator should preferably also have familiarity of or enthusiasm in riding, alpine skiing, the arts and music so as to influence the child in a diverse set of interests.
Furthermore though, he explained the family hoped the tutor to register the child on a selection of courses so the child would be "equestrian training and learning an musical instrument by the time they are approximately three years old".
In the family's minds, helping their son become a "English gentleman" will lead to accomplishment and open doors.
"Considering the advantages and disadvantages of that, because it's undoubtedly a status symbol," he adds.
But, in spite of all this guidance in "Britishness", could the child absorb alleged cultural bias from the international family he resides with regardless?
"Certainly", said he. "The parents know this could fail, but they've merely embraced the view of, 'let's give it a go and let's go as quickly as we can', because the price of it is not a concern," he stated.
Impractical
Several in the private teaching field who express these concerns.
Another CEO, chief executive of a tutoring service, who provides private tutors, commented that "the journey of becoming bicultural, or indeed, forming one's identity, is something that must be lived into, not engineered."
He explained that he had relocated from Asia to the United Kingdom at the time of seven, and had been educated knowing and practicing both cultures. He went on to be educated at Cambridge University.
"The concept that an individual can serve as a living vessel of Britishness, an individual who can possibly impart the attributes of a English gentleman upon a infant child, strikes me as idealistic and unrealistic," he commented.
"From my perspective, employing a typically English tutor from infancy will will not automatically achieve the goal they want.
"I never had such a tutor, and nevertheless I have been fortunate enough to live many of the opportunities they desire for their son."
He stated: "The truth is, self-identity can not be forced from the outside; it must be embraced, and it must be internally driven."
Purchasing UK Culture
Certainly, English culture is something the expert believes can be instructed – and sold.
"I think the fact that the global community regards us in this respect is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
