"A household residing in North London is looking for an exceptional and qualified instructor to assist their smallest child on his first steps to becoming an British gentleman."
When reading this listing, you might easily miss the term "initial stages" as just a turn of phrase.
But, it may be the crucial part of this distinctive job advert, as it aims to hire a teacher for a 12-month-old.
Hundreds of applications have already been submitted since the anonymous family published their search for the highly paid tutor, who needs to be "someone very special".
During the past few weeks, the post has received attention across the press, with several asking why?
Progressive Approach
The CEO, chief executive of Tutors International, which is supporting the family in their quest, said that despite first scepticism, he viewed the concept "visionary", and "advanced".
When he consulted the family, he noted they recognized the unconventional aspect of their requirement, and how young their son is.
However, they stated that they "preferred not to postpone any longer" to hire a tutor, as they had postponed until their older child was five, and by that age "cultural influence had already taken hold".
But what did the family mean by "cultural bias"?
It's "all-encompassing", he responded. "The way you eat, the way you speak".
He explained the firstborn had adopted "really subtle, non-verbal cues" from the family, and had taken on their cultural norms. The family explained to him they hoped to prevent history to recur with their younger child.
The strategy: To hire a British tutor, who needs to speak with standard English accent, to guide the baby from day one.
Osmotic Learning
"A lot of the learning at the start here is somewhat acquired indirectly," explained Adam.
It's through this natural absorption that the family are aiming the child will acquire the UK customs they wish to cultivate.
He noted the tutor had to be someone who attended "the right kinds of schools – the same kinds of schools as the family plan to send their son to".
"The instructor just has to be the appropriate candidate, they'll be performing things they don't even know they're doing, effortlessly," he commented.
Money No Object
The family informed him the successful candidate should preferably also have knowledge of or enthusiasm in equestrian activities, winter sports, creative fields and instrumental training so as to shape the child in a diverse set of hobbies.
More than that though, he stated the family wanted the tutor to register the child on a selection of courses so the child would be "equestrian training and starting an musical instrument by the time they are approximately three years old".
In the family's minds, assisting their son become a "English gentleman" will bring about success and create opportunities.
"For all the rights and wrongs of that, because it's undoubtedly a class statement," he comments.
But, notwithstanding all this instruction in "Britishness", could the child pick up so-called cultural bias from the multicultural family he resides with in any case?
"Yes", answered he. "The family understand this could fail, but they've simply adopted the attitude of, 'we should try and we'll proceed as quickly as we can', because the cost of it is irrelevant," he stated.
Impractical
A number of in the tutoring industry who express similar reservations.
An education leader, head and founder of an educational organization, who also offer personal educators, commented that "the journey of embracing two identities, or in fact, becoming oneself, is something that must be lived into, not engineered."
The expert wrote that he had emigrated from Asia to the Britain at the period of seven, and had been raised understanding and living both cultures. He progressed to study at a prestigious UK institution.
"The concept that a single person can act as a embodiment of English culture, a person who can possibly impart the characteristics of a UK sophisticate to a infant child, appears idealistic and impractical," he stated.
"In my experience, employing a quintessentially UK tutor from early childhood will will not instantly produce the outcome they hope for.
"I never had such a tutor, and however I have been fortunate enough to enjoy many of the opportunities they aspire for their son."
He continued: "The fact is, personal identity can not be imposed from the external environment; it must be chosen, and it must be internally driven."
Acquiring Englishness
Naturally, UK identity is something Adam believes can be educated – and commercialized.
"I think the situation that the global community holds us in this light is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
