"A family residing in North London wants to find an extraordinary and qualified educator to support their smallest child on his early path to growing into an British gentleman."
Looking at this listing, you might readily overlook the phrase "initial stages" as just an expression.
Yet, it could be the most significant aspect of this unusual job advert, as it aims to recruit a mentor for a infant.
Hundreds of applications have now been submitted since the unidentified family published their search for the £180,000 per year tutor, who needs to be "someone very special".
During the past few weeks, the listing has received interest in the news, with numerous wondering why?
Innovative Idea
A tutoring expert, chief executive of a global tutoring firm, which is assisting the family in their search, said that despite early doubt, he considered the idea "forward-looking", and "innovative".
When he met the family, he said they understood the unusual nature of their demand, and how immature their son is.
But, they clarified that they "were unwilling to delay any longer" to hire a tutor, as they had postponed until their older child was five, and by that point "cultural bias had already become established".
But what does the family refer to by "cultural leaning"?
It's "everything", the expert responded. "The manner you eat, the way you speak".
He stated the older sibling had absorbed "very nuanced, unspoken signals" from the family, and had assumed their cultural habits. The family informed Adam they did not want history to repeat itself with their new baby.
The plan: To bring in a UK tutor, who needs to speak with RP, to guide the baby from the very start.
Subtle Influence
"A lot of the education at the outset here is somewhat acquired indirectly," explained Adam.
It's by means of this natural absorption that the family are hoping the child will pick up the English characteristics they want to impart.
The consultant explained the tutor must be somebody who attended "prestigious academies – comparable categories of schools as the family plan to send their son to".
"The instructor must be the right kind of person, they'll be doing things they don't even know they're doing, just naturally," he commented.
Expense Not a Factor
The family told Adam the chosen tutor should preferably also have knowledge of or passion in horse riding, alpine skiing, artistic pursuits and music so as to shape the child in a wide range of hobbies.
Furthermore though, he explained the family desired the tutor to enrol the child on a selection of classes so the child would be "equestrian training and learning an musical instrument by the time they are approximately three years old".
In the family's minds, helping their son grow into a "British gentleman" will bring about accomplishment and open doors.
"Considering the pros and cons of that, because it's undoubtedly a status symbol," he notes.
But, in spite of all this tutelage in "English culture", would the child absorb what is termed cultural bias from the multicultural family he lives with in any case?
"Certainly", said the CEO. "They realize this may not work, but they've merely embraced the attitude of, 'let's give it a go and we'll proceed as early as we can', because the expense of it is not a concern," he said.
Overly Optimistic
There are some in the tutoring industry who have these concerns.
Another CEO, head and founder of an educational organization, who also offer individual instructors, stated that "the journey of becoming bicultural, or indeed, becoming oneself, is something that must be lived into, not designed."
He noted that he had relocated from Asia to the United Kingdom at the time of seven, and had been raised knowing and living two backgrounds. He went on to be educated at the University of Cambridge.
"The idea that one individual can serve as a embodiment of UK identity, someone who can in some way transfer the attributes of a UK sophisticate onto a one-year-old child, seems to me naive and impractical," he commented.
"Based on my background, employing a quintessentially English tutor from babyhood will does not necessarily achieve the goal they hope for.
"I did not have that kind of mentor, and however I have been privileged enough to live several of the experiences they desire for their son."
He stated: "The reality is, self-identity can not be imposed from the outside; it must be selected, and it must come from within."
Acquiring Englishness
Naturally, Britishness is something the expert believes can be educated – and commercialized.
"I think the reality that the world holds us in this light is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
