"A household residing in north London wants to find an exceptional and qualified tutor to support their most junior child on his early path to turning into an English gentleman."
When reading this listing, you might naturally miss the term "initial stages" as simple an expression.
But, it might be the most important part of this unique job advert, as it aims to find a tutor for a one-year-old.
Hundreds of applications have now been received since the unnamed family advertised their request for the £180k-a-year tutor, who needs to be "a uniquely qualified person".
Over the last few weeks, the listing has attracted interest throughout the press, with many questioning why?
Innovative Idea
The CEO, chief executive of Tutors International, which is helping the family in their quest, explained that notwithstanding early scepticism, he found the plan "forward-looking", and "innovative".
When he spoke with the family, he mentioned they appreciated the atypical nature of their request, and how young their son is.
Nevertheless, they clarified that they "preferred not to postpone any longer" to hire a tutor, as they had postponed until their elder sibling was five, and by that age "cultural bias had already become established".
What exactly did the family refer to by "cultural leaning"?
It's "all-encompassing", Adam responded. "The way you eat, how you speak".
He explained the older sibling had picked up "really subtle, unspoken signals" from the family, and had assumed their cultural ways. The family told him they wished to avoid this pattern to happen again with their new baby.
The strategy: To bring in a British tutor, who needs to speak with standard English accent, to shape the baby from day one.
Osmotic Learning
"A great deal of the development at the outset here is rather acquired indirectly," explained the CEO.
It's through this osmosis that the family are aiming the child will pick up the English characteristics they aim to instil.
The consultant said the tutor needed to be somebody who studied at "the right kinds of schools – the same kinds of schools as the family hope to send their son to".
"The instructor must be the right kind of person, they'll be carrying out things they don't even know they're doing, simply by nature," he said.
Cost Not Relevant
The family informed the expert the chosen tutor should ideally also have understanding of or passion in riding, winter sports, creative fields and music so as to shape the child in a broad spectrum of hobbies.
Additionally though, he explained the family desired the tutor to enrol the child on a range of lessons so the child would be "pony-riding and starting an instrument by the time they are around three years old".
In the family's view, guiding their son develop into a "British gentleman" will result in accomplishment and create opportunities.
"Considering the rights and wrongs of that, because it's undoubtedly a status symbol," he adds.
But, notwithstanding all this tutelage in "English culture", might the child adopt what is termed cultural bias from the globally influenced family he resides with anyway?
"Certainly", answered the CEO. "The family understand this may not work, but they've merely embraced the perspective of, 'why not attempt it and let's go as early as we can', because the expense of it is irrelevant," he stated.
Overly Optimistic
Several in the private teaching field who have similar doubts.
Another CEO, CEO and founder of a tutoring service, who provides private tutors, wrote that "the journey of embracing two identities, or indeed, becoming oneself, is something that must be lived into, not engineered."
The expert noted that he had moved from the Far East to the UK at the period of 7 years old, and had been brought up understanding and living dual heritages. He continued to learn at the University of Cambridge.
"The idea that a single person can serve as a embodiment of Britishness, an individual who can somehow transplant the qualities of a English gentleman onto a infant child, seems to me idealistic and impractical," he commented.
"From my perspective, having a quintessentially British tutor from infancy will not automatically achieve the outcome they desire.
"I wasn't provided with such a figure, and however I have been lucky enough to experience several of the opportunities they desire for their son."
He stated: "The truth is, self-identity should not be imposed from the external environment; it must be embraced, and it must originate internally."
Purchasing UK Culture
Naturally, English culture is something the expert thinks can be instructed – and commercialized.
"I believe the situation that the international society views us in this regard is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
