"Parents based in North London wants to find an exceptional and qualified tutor to support their smallest child on his first steps to becoming an British gentleman."
Upon seeing this advertisement, you might naturally skip the phrase "initial stages" as just an expression.
However, it may be the most important part of this unusual position posting, as it attempts to recruit a mentor for a one-year-old.
Numerous of applications have already been received since the unidentified family posted their request for the £180,000 per year tutor, who must be "a uniquely qualified person".
During the past few weeks, the listing has attracted interest in the press, with numerous wondering why?
Progressive Approach
A tutoring expert, chief executive of an education consultancy, which is supporting the family in their search, stated that notwithstanding initial doubt, he found the idea "far sighted", and "progressive".
When he met the family, he noted they recognized the unusual aspect of their request, and how early in age their son is.
However, they stated that they "were unwilling to delay any longer" to engage a tutor, as they had postponed until their firstborn was five, and by that stage "cultural influence had already taken hold".
What exactly did the family refer to by "cultural bias"?
It's "all-encompassing", Adam responded. "The manner you eat, the manner you speak".
He said the elder child had adopted "very nuanced, non-verbal cues" from the family, and had taken on their cultural norms. The family told the consultant they hoped to prevent this pattern to happen again with their younger child.
The intention: To engage a English tutor, who needs to speak with standard English accent, to shape the baby from day one.
Subtle Influence
"A great deal of the education at the outset here is rather osmotic," stated the expert.
It's by means of this osmosis that the family are hoping the child will acquire the English characteristics they aim to impart.
The consultant noted the tutor needed to be an individual who attended "the right kinds of schools – similar types of schools as the family aspire to send their son to".
"The instructor just has to be the right kind of person, they'll be performing things they don't even know they're doing, effortlessly," he added.
Expense Not a Factor
The family explained to him the chosen tutor should preferably also have knowledge of or enthusiasm in riding, alpine skiing, the arts and musical activities so as to inspire the child in a broad spectrum of passions.
Additionally though, he said the family wanted the tutor to enrol the child on a range of lessons so the child would be "pony-riding and picking up an tool by the time they are about three years old".
In the family's perspective, guiding their son become a "UK sophisticate" will result in achievement and open doors.
"For all the pros and cons of that, because it's certainly a status symbol," he adds.
But, notwithstanding all this tutelage in "UK identity", might the child adopt so-called cultural leaning from the multicultural family he resides with anyway?
"Yes", replied Adam. "They realize this could fail, but they've merely embraced the view of, 'why not attempt it and let's go as early as we can', because the price of it is not a concern," he said.
Impractical
There are some in the private teaching field who share these doubts.
Another CEO, head and founder of Blue Education, who provides individual instructors, stated that "the journey of becoming bicultural, or in fact, becoming oneself, is something that must be lived into, not engineered."
Peter wrote that he had relocated from China to the United Kingdom at the period of seven, and had been raised knowing and practicing both cultures. He went on to learn at the University of Cambridge.
"The notion that an individual can function as a embodiment of English culture, a person who can in some way transplant the qualities of a British gentleman to a 12-month-old child, seems to me optimistic and unrealistic," he wrote.
"In my experience, employing a distinctly English tutor from early childhood will will not instantly create the outcome they desire.
"I wasn't provided with that kind of mentor, and nevertheless I have been fortunate enough to enjoy many of the situations they hope for their son."
He stated: "The truth is, cultural identity cannot be forced from the outside influences; it must be embraced, and it must be internally driven."
Buying Britishness
Of course, English culture is something the expert hopes can be instructed – and marketed.
"I believe the reality that the world holds us in this respect is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
