"A household based in North London wants to find an extraordinary and qualified tutor to assist their most junior child on his first steps to growing into an British gentleman."
When reading this listing, you might naturally skip the term "initial stages" as mere figurative language.
Yet, it could be the crucial part of this distinctive job advert, as it attempts to find a tutor for a infant.
Hundreds of applications have already been sent in since the unnamed family published their request for the highly paid tutor, who must be "a uniquely qualified person".
Over the last few weeks, the post has received attention throughout the media, with many asking why?
Progressive Approach
The CEO, head and founder of Tutors International, which is helping the family in their hunt, stated that despite early doubt, he viewed the idea "visionary", and "progressive".
When he met the family, he said they appreciated the atypical aspect of their request, and how young their son is.
But, they clarified that they "didn't want to wait any longer" to hire a tutor, as they had held off until their older child was five, and by that age "cultural bias had by then taken hold".
But what did the family mean by "cultural bias"?
It's "everything", he responded. "The way you eat, how you speak".
He stated the firstborn had picked up "really subtle, non-verbal cues" from the family, and had assumed their cultural ways. The family explained to Adam they wished to avoid history to recur with their infant.
The intention: To bring in a British tutor, who must speak with RP, to guide the baby right from the beginning.
Osmotic Learning
"A lot of the learning at the beginning here is rather acquired indirectly," said the CEO.
It's by means of this subtle influence that the family are aiming the child will adopt the British traits they aim to instil.
He explained the tutor needed to be somebody who attended "the appropriate educational institutions – the same kinds of schools as the family hope to send their son to".
"The educator must be the suitable individual, they'll be doing things they aren't even aware they're doing, simply by nature," he commented.
Cost Not Relevant
The family informed the expert the selected educator should ideally also have familiarity of or interest in equestrian activities, alpine skiing, creative fields and music so as to inspire the child in a diverse set of interests.
Furthermore though, he stated the family desired the tutor to sign up the child on a range of classes so the child would be "horseback riding and picking up an instrument by the time they are around three years old".
In the family's perspective, assisting their son grow into a "English gentleman" will lead to achievement and create opportunities.
"Considering the rights and wrongs of that, because it's undoubtedly a class statement," he notes.
But, notwithstanding all this tutelage in "Britishness", might the child adopt so-called cultural bias from the globally influenced family he is raised by regardless?
"Yes", said the CEO. "The parents know this could fail, but they've simply adopted the perspective of, 'we should try and we'll proceed as early as we can', because the cost of it is not relevant," he explained.
Idealistic and Unrealistic
A number of in the tutoring industry who share similar reservations.
Peter Cui, head and founder of a tutoring service, who also offer personal educators, wrote that "the development of adopting dual cultures, or in fact, forming one's identity, is something that must be experienced personally, not manufactured."
Peter noted that he had moved from China to the UK at the age of seven, and had been raised understanding and practicing dual heritages. He progressed to learn at a prestigious UK institution.
"The notion that an individual can act as a living vessel of Britishness, someone who can somehow transfer the qualities of a English gentleman to a 12-month-old child, appears optimistic and impractical," he stated.
"In my experience, engaging a quintessentially UK tutor from infancy will not necessarily create the result they desire.
"I never had such a figure, and however I have been fortunate enough to experience many of the opportunities they aspire for their son."
He continued: "The reality is, personal identity can not be dictated from the external environment; it must be embraced, and it must originate internally."
Acquiring Englishness
Certainly, UK identity is something the CEO thinks can be taught – and commercialized.
"I think the fact that the global community holds us in this respect is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
