"A family located in the northern part of London wants to find an extraordinary and qualified instructor to assist their youngest child on his early path to turning into an British gentleman."
Upon seeing this post, you might naturally skip the wording "initial stages" as just an expression.
But, it could be the most important element of this distinctive position posting, as it aims to hire a tutor for a one-year-old.
Numerous of responses have since been sent in since the unnamed family advertised their call for the highly paid tutor, who must be "an exceptional individual".
Over the last few weeks, the advert has attracted attention across the news, with numerous asking why?
Innovative Idea
A tutoring expert, CEO and founder of a global tutoring firm, which is assisting the family in their search, stated that despite first skepticism, he considered the idea "visionary", and "advanced".
When he spoke with the family, he noted they appreciated the atypical aspect of their requirement, and how young their son is.
But, they explained that they "didn't want to wait any longer" to get a tutor, as they had postponed until their elder sibling was five, and by that age "cultural conditioning had already taken hold".
What exactly did the family mean by "cultural leaning"?
It's "everything", Adam answered. "How you eat, the manner you speak".
He said the elder child had adopted "really subtle, unspoken signals" from the family, and had adopted their cultural ways. The family explained to him they wished to avoid this pattern to repeat itself with their infant.
The intention: To bring in a English tutor, who must speak with Received Pronunciation, to influence the baby from the very start.
Natural Absorption
"A lot of the development at the beginning here is somewhat osmotic," stated the expert.
It's via this natural absorption that the family are hoping the child will pick up the UK customs they wish to cultivate.
He noted the tutor must be somebody who studied at "the appropriate educational institutions – comparable categories of schools as the family hope to send their son to".
"The tutor simply needs to be the suitable individual, they'll be doing things they aren't even aware they're doing, simply by nature," he added.
Money No Object
The family informed him the chosen tutor should ideally also have familiarity of or passion in riding, alpine skiing, creative fields and instrumental training so as to shape the child in a broad spectrum of hobbies.
Additionally though, he stated the family wanted the tutor to register the child on a range of lessons so the child would be "pony-riding and learning an instrument by the time they are about three years old".
In the family's view, helping their son become a "British gentleman" will result in achievement and provide access.
"For all the pros and cons of that, because it's definitely a class statement," he adds.
Yet, despite all this instruction in "English culture", would the child adopt alleged cultural influence from the international family he lives with regardless?
"Absolutely", answered the CEO. "The family know this may not work, but they've just taken the attitude of, 'why not attempt it and let's go as quickly as we can', because the expense of it is not relevant," he stated.
Overly Optimistic
Several in the tutoring industry who share these reservations.
An education leader, chief executive of Blue Education, who provides individual instructors, commented that "the development of becoming bicultural, or indeed, becoming oneself, is something that must be experienced personally, not engineered."
Peter wrote that he had moved from the Far East to the UK at the age of childhood, and had been raised knowing and embodying both cultures. He went on to learn at a prestigious UK institution.
"The idea that a single person can serve as a representation of Britishness, an individual who can in some way transfer the characteristics of a British gentleman upon a one-year-old child, strikes me as naive and unrealistic," he stated.
"In my experience, engaging a quintessentially British tutor from early childhood will not necessarily create the outcome they want.
"I did not have such a figure, and however I have been privileged enough to experience several of the situations they desire for their son."
He added: "The reality is, cultural identity cannot be dictated from the outside influences; it must be chosen, and it must originate internally."
Purchasing UK Culture
Certainly, English culture is something Adam believes can be educated – and commercialized.
"I think the fact that the international society views us in this respect is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
