"A family based in north London wants to find an extraordinary and skilled instructor to guide their smallest child on his first steps to becoming an British gentleman."
Upon seeing this advertisement, you might easily skip the wording "initial stages" as mere figurative language.
Yet, it could be the most significant aspect of this unusual employment listing, as it attempts to find a tutor for a infant.
Numerous of submissions have now been received since the unidentified family published their request for the £180,000 per year tutor, who must be "someone very special".
Over the last few weeks, the post has gained attention throughout the media, with several wondering why?
Forward-Thinking Method
Adam Caller, head and founder of a global tutoring firm, which is supporting the family in their hunt, said that notwithstanding initial doubt, he considered the idea "forward-looking", and "progressive".
When he consulted the family, he noted they recognized the unconventional character of their requirement, and how early in age their son is.
However, they stated 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 point "cultural conditioning had already become established".
But what does the family indicate by "cultural predisposition"?
It's "all-encompassing", the expert responded. "The way you eat, the way you speak".
He said the older sibling had adopted "extremely delicate, non-verbal cues" from the family, and had taken on their cultural habits. The family informed the consultant they did not want the same situation to happen again with their new baby.
The intention: To engage a English tutor, who needs to speak with standard English accent, to shape the baby right from the beginning.
Natural Absorption
"Much of the learning at the outset here is rather acquired indirectly," stated the expert.
It's via this natural absorption that the family are hoping the child will adopt the British traits they aim to cultivate.
The consultant said the tutor needed to be an individual who went to "prestigious academies – the same kinds of schools as the family hope to send their son to".
"The tutor simply needs to be the suitable individual, they'll be performing things they may not realize they're doing, effortlessly," he said.
Expense Not a Factor
The family explained to the expert the successful candidate should preferably also have familiarity of or interest in horse riding, alpine skiing, creative fields and instrumental training so as to influence the child in a broad spectrum of passions.
Furthermore though, he stated the family wanted the tutor to sign up the child on a selection of classes so the child would be "equestrian training and picking up an instrument by the time they are about three years old".
In the family's minds, assisting their son develop into a "English gentleman" will bring about success and open doors.
"For all the pros and cons of that, because it's undoubtedly a class statement," he notes.
But, notwithstanding all this guidance in "English culture", might the child pick up so-called cultural leaning from the multicultural family he lives with anyway?
"Absolutely", answered he. "The parents realize this could fail, but they've simply adopted the view of, 'why not attempt it and we should start as quickly as we can', because the expense of it is not a concern," he stated.
Impractical
There are some in the private teaching field who share these reservations.
An education leader, chief executive of an educational organization, who provides individual instructors, wrote that "the journey of embracing two identities, or actually, becoming oneself, is something that must be experienced personally, not manufactured."
He wrote that he had emigrated from Asia to the UK at the period of seven, and had been brought up understanding and embodying dual heritages. He went on to learn at Cambridge University.
"The notion that an individual can function as a embodiment of UK identity, an individual who can in some way transfer the attributes of a British gentleman upon a one-year-old child, appears idealistic and unrealistic," he commented.
"Based on my background, employing a quintessentially UK tutor from babyhood will will not necessarily create the result they hope for.
"I never had such a figure, and nevertheless I have been lucky enough to enjoy numerous of the situations they hope for their son."
He stated: "The reality is, cultural identity can not be dictated from the outside influences; it must be selected, and it must be internally driven."
Acquiring Englishness
Naturally, Britishness is something Adam thinks can be taught – and sold.
"I think the reality that the international society views us in this respect is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
