"Parents located in the northern part of London is looking for an exceptional and skilled tutor to support their most junior child on his first steps to becoming an British gentleman."
Upon seeing this advertisement, you might easily skip the phrase "initial stages" as simple an expression.
But, it may be the most important part of this unusual job advert, as it aims to recruit a tutor for a 12-month-old.
Many of submissions have since been received since the unidentified family advertised their request for the £180,000 per year tutor, who must be "a uniquely qualified person".
In recent few weeks, the post has attracted attention throughout the news, with several asking why?
Innovative Idea
The CEO, CEO and founder of a global tutoring firm, which is supporting the family in their search, said that despite first scepticism, he considered the concept "far sighted", and "innovative".
When he consulted the family, he noted they understood the unconventional nature of their request, and how young their son is.
But, they clarified that they "were unwilling to delay any longer" to get a tutor, as they had waited until their firstborn was five, and by that age "cultural bias had already taken hold".
What exactly does the family mean by "cultural predisposition"?
It's "all-encompassing", the expert responded. "How you eat, the manner you speak".
He stated the firstborn had absorbed "very nuanced, unspoken signals" from the family, and had adopted their cultural norms. The family explained to Adam they wished to avoid this pattern to repeat itself with their new baby.
The intention: To bring in a UK tutor, who needs to speak with standard English accent, to influence the baby right from the beginning.
Osmotic Learning
"A great deal of the development at the beginning here is somewhat absorbed naturally," stated Adam.
It's via this subtle influence that the family are expecting the child will pick up the UK customs they want to instil.
He said the tutor needed to be someone who attended "the appropriate educational institutions – similar types of schools as the family aspire to send their son to".
"The educator must be the appropriate candidate, they'll be carrying out things they may not realize they're doing, effortlessly," he commented.
Expense Not a Factor
The family explained to him the chosen tutor should ideally also have familiarity of or enthusiasm in riding, alpine skiing, creative fields and musical activities so as to influence the child in a diverse set of hobbies.
Additionally though, he explained the family wanted the tutor to enrol the child on a variety of courses so the child would be "equestrian training and learning an instrument by the time they are approximately three years old".
In the family's view, guiding their son become a "British gentleman" will lead to achievement and open doors.
"Considering the pros and cons of that, because it's definitely a class statement," he adds.
But, in spite of all this instruction in "Britishness", might the child pick up what is termed cultural bias from the international family he lives with regardless?
"Absolutely", replied he. "The family realize this may not work, but they've simply adopted the perspective of, 'we should try and we'll proceed as early as we can', because the expense of it is not relevant," he said.
Idealistic and Unrealistic
There are some in the private teaching field who share these concerns.
An education leader, chief executive of Blue Education, who supplies personal educators, stated that "the journey of becoming bicultural, or in fact, becoming oneself, is something that must be lived into, not designed."
Peter noted that he had relocated from Asia to the UK at the period of childhood, and had been brought up knowing and embodying both cultures. He went on to learn at Cambridge University.
"The concept that one individual can function as a representation of Britishness, a person who can somehow transplant the qualities of a English gentleman upon a one-year-old child, strikes me as optimistic and unrealistic," he commented.
"From my perspective, having a quintessentially British tutor from infancy will not automatically achieve the goal they want.
"I never had that kind of mentor, and yet I have been fortunate enough to live numerous of the experiences they desire for their son."
He added: "The reality is, cultural identity should not be dictated from the outside influences; it must be chosen, and it must be internally driven."
Acquiring Englishness
Of course, English culture is something the expert believes can be educated – and commercialized.
"I believe the situation that the world holds us in this regard is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
