"A household residing in North London wants to find an remarkable and experienced instructor to assist their youngest child on his early path to growing into an British gentleman."
Upon seeing this listing, you might naturally skip the wording "initial stages" as just an expression.
However, it may be the most significant part of this unusual employment listing, as it seeks to recruit a tutor for a 12-month-old.
Hundreds of submissions have since been received since the anonymous family advertised their request for the £180k-a-year tutor, who has to be "an exceptional individual".
During the past few weeks, the post has attracted interest across the press, with many asking why?
Forward-Thinking Method
The CEO, chief executive of a global tutoring firm, which is helping the family in their quest, said that in spite of first doubt, he found the concept "forward-looking", and "innovative".
When he spoke with the family, he noted they recognized the unconventional nature of their request, and how early in age their son is.
Nevertheless, they explained that they "were unwilling to delay any longer" to engage a tutor, as they had postponed until their firstborn was five, and by that age "cultural influence had already taken hold".
What exactly did the family refer to by "cultural bias"?
It's "comprehensive", the expert replied. "How you eat, the manner you speak".
He explained the older sibling had adopted "very nuanced, body language" from the family, and had assumed their cultural habits. The family explained to him they did not want the same situation to recur with their new baby.
The intention: To bring in a English tutor, who needs to speak with RP, to guide the baby right from the beginning.
Natural Absorption
"A lot of the education at the outset here is rather acquired indirectly," explained Adam.
It's via this natural absorption that the family are expecting the child will adopt the UK customs they wish to impart.
Adam noted the tutor had to be an individual who attended "the appropriate educational institutions – comparable categories of schools as the family plan to send their son to".
"The tutor just has to be the right kind of person, they'll be performing things they don't even know they're doing, just naturally," he added.
Cost Not Relevant
The family explained to him the selected educator should ideally also have knowledge of or interest in horse riding, alpine skiing, artistic pursuits and music so as to inspire the child in a broad spectrum of hobbies.
Additionally though, he stated the family hoped the tutor to sign up the child on a selection of classes so the child would be "pony-riding and starting an tool by the time they are around three years old".
In the family's minds, guiding their son develop into a "English gentleman" will result in accomplishment and provide access.
"Considering the rights and wrongs of that, because it's certainly a status symbol," he notes.
Yet, notwithstanding all this tutelage in "Britishness", would the child absorb alleged cultural bias from the international family he resides with in any case?
"Absolutely", replied he. "They know this might not succeed, but they've simply adopted the view of, 'we should try and we should start as soon as we can', because the price of it is not a concern," he said.
Idealistic and Unrealistic
There are some in the tutoring industry who express these reservations.
Another CEO, head and founder of a tutoring service, who also offer personal educators, wrote that "the process of becoming bicultural, or actually, discovering oneself, is something that must be experienced personally, not engineered."
Peter explained that he had moved from the Far East to the Britain at the period of seven, and had been brought up experiencing and embodying two backgrounds. He progressed to be educated at a prestigious UK institution.
"The notion that an individual can serve as a embodiment of Britishness, a person who can possibly transfer the characteristics of a English gentleman upon a one-year-old child, strikes me as naive and impractical," he commented.
"In my experience, employing a distinctly UK tutor from babyhood will will not necessarily produce the goal they desire.
"I wasn't provided with such a figure, and however I have been fortunate enough to live many of the situations they hope for their son."
He stated: "The truth is, cultural identity can not be dictated from the outside influences; it must be chosen, and it must originate internally."
Acquiring Englishness
Naturally, English culture is something Adam thinks can be taught – and sold.
"I think the reality that the international society views us in this respect is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
