"A household residing in North London seeks an extraordinary and skilled instructor to assist their most junior child on his initial journey to becoming an British gentleman."
Upon seeing this listing, you might readily skip the phrase "initial stages" as simple figurative language.
Yet, it may be the most significant aspect of this unique employment listing, as it aims to hire a tutor for a 12-month-old.
Many of applications have already been submitted since the unnamed family posted their call for the highly paid tutor, who must be "an exceptional individual".
Over the last few weeks, the post has attracted notice in the media, with many wondering why?
Forward-Thinking Method
A tutoring expert, head and founder of a global tutoring firm, which is assisting the family in their quest, said that despite first skepticism, he viewed the concept "far sighted", and "progressive".
When he consulted the family, he noted they understood the unusual nature of their request, and how immature their son is.
But, they clarified that they "preferred not to postpone any longer" to get a tutor, as they had postponed until their elder sibling was five, and by that point "cultural conditioning had already set in".
What precisely does the family refer to by "cultural bias"?
It's "everything", the expert answered. "The way you eat, the way you speak".
He said the elder child had picked up "very nuanced, unspoken signals" from the family, and had adopted their cultural ways. The family told him they did not want this pattern to recur with their younger child.
The intention: To hire a English tutor, who needs to speak with Received Pronunciation, to influence the baby from the very start.
Osmotic Learning
"A lot of the education at the start here is somewhat absorbed naturally," explained the CEO.
It's through this subtle influence that the family are aiming the child will adopt the UK customs they aim to cultivate.
The consultant said the tutor needed to be someone who attended "the appropriate educational institutions – similar types of schools as the family plan to send their son to".
"The educator must be the appropriate candidate, they'll be doing things they aren't even aware they're doing, just naturally," he added.
Expense Not a Factor
The family informed the expert the successful candidate should ideally also have knowledge of or enthusiasm in equestrian activities, winter sports, creative fields and musical activities so as to shape the child in a diverse set of hobbies.
Furthermore though, he said the family wanted the tutor to register the child on a variety of courses so the child would be "horseback riding and learning an tool by the time they are about three years old".
In the family's view, helping their son develop into a "UK sophisticate" will lead to accomplishment and provide access.
"For all the pros and cons of that, because it's certainly a social class indicator," he notes.
Yet, despite all this instruction in "UK identity", would the child pick up what is termed cultural leaning from the multicultural family he lives with anyway?
"Absolutely", answered he. "The parents realize this could fail, but they've just taken the view of, 'let's give it a go and let's go as soon as we can', because the cost of it is not relevant," he explained.
Idealistic and Unrealistic
A number of in the education sector who express similar reservations.
Peter Cui, chief executive of a tutoring service, who supplies private tutors, stated that "the process of becoming bicultural, or in fact, forming one's identity, is something that must be grown into, not designed."
The expert explained that he had moved from Asia to the United Kingdom at the period of childhood, and had been brought up understanding and embodying dual heritages. He went on to study at the University of Cambridge.
"The concept that a single person can function as a living vessel of Britishness, an individual who can in some way impart the qualities of a UK sophisticate onto a 12-month-old child, seems to me naive and impractical," he commented.
"In my experience, engaging a quintessentially English tutor from infancy will will not necessarily produce the outcome they desire.
"I wasn't provided with such a tutor, and nevertheless I have been lucky enough to experience many of the situations they hope for their son."
He continued: "The reality is, cultural identity cannot be forced from the external environment; it must be selected, and it must originate internally."
Acquiring Englishness
Of course, UK identity is something Adam believes can be instructed – and marketed.
"In my view the reality that the global community views us in this regard is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
