"A household based in the northern part of London seeks an exceptional and experienced tutor to assist their most junior child on his first steps to growing into an English gentleman."
Looking at this advertisement, you might naturally miss the phrase "initial stages" as mere figurative language.
But, it might be the most significant aspect of this unique position posting, as it seeks to recruit a teacher for a 12-month-old.
Hundreds of responses have now been sent in since the unnamed family published their search for the highly paid tutor, who must be "a uniquely qualified person".
During the past few weeks, the advert has received attention in the news, with several wondering why?
Progressive Approach
Adam Caller, chief executive of Tutors International, which is supporting the family in their search, said that despite early doubt, he viewed the idea "forward-looking", and "innovative".
When he met the family, he noted they recognized the unusual character of their requirement, and how early in age their son is.
But, they stated that they "didn't want to wait any longer" to get a tutor, as they had postponed until their elder sibling was five, and by that age "cultural bias had already become established".
What exactly does the family indicate by "cultural leaning"?
It's "comprehensive", the expert replied. "The manner you eat, how you speak".
He said the firstborn had picked up "very nuanced, non-verbal cues" from the family, and had taken on their cultural ways. The family informed him they hoped to prevent this pattern to recur with their younger child.
The strategy: To bring in a English tutor, who should speak with RP, to influence the baby from day one.
Natural Absorption
"A great deal of the development at the outset here is somewhat osmotic," said the expert.
It's via this natural absorption that the family are expecting the child will acquire the British traits they wish to instil.
Adam said the tutor must be somebody who went to "the appropriate educational institutions – the same kinds of schools as the family plan to send their son to".
"The tutor simply needs to be the suitable individual, they'll be performing things they aren't even aware they're doing, simply by nature," he commented.
Cost Not Relevant
The family explained to the expert the successful candidate should ideally also have understanding of or enthusiasm in equestrian activities, winter sports, creative fields and musical activities so as to influence the child in a broad spectrum of interests.
More than that though, he said the family hoped the tutor to sign up the child on a selection of classes so the child would be "equestrian training and learning an instrument by the time they are around three years old".
In the family's minds, guiding their son become a "British gentleman" will bring about success and open doors.
"Taking into account the pros and cons of that, because it's certainly a status symbol," he notes.
Yet, in spite of all this tutelage in "English culture", could the child absorb alleged cultural bias from the globally influenced family he lives with anyway?
"Absolutely", replied Adam. "They know this could fail, but they've simply adopted the perspective of, 'we should try and let's go as quickly as we can', because the expense of it is not a concern," he stated.
Idealistic and Unrealistic
A number of in the education sector who share those reservations.
Another CEO, chief executive of a tutoring service, who supplies personal educators, commented that "the process of becoming bicultural, or actually, forming one's identity, is something that must be lived into, not engineered."
He noted that he had relocated from China to the UK at the time of seven, and had been brought up experiencing and living two backgrounds. He continued to learn at a prestigious UK institution.
"The idea that a single person can serve as a living vessel of Britishness, an individual who can in some way transplant the qualities of a English gentleman onto a one-year-old child, strikes me as optimistic and unrealistic," he wrote.
"Based on my background, engaging a quintessentially UK tutor from infancy will does not instantly create the result they hope for.
"I wasn't provided with that kind of mentor, and however I have been privileged enough to live numerous of the opportunities they desire for their son."
He continued: "The truth is, cultural identity can not be forced from the external environment; it must be embraced, and it must be internally driven."
Purchasing UK Culture
Of course, English culture is something Adam believes can be instructed – and marketed.
"I believe the situation that the global community views us in this light is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
