"A family based in north London wants to find an exceptional and qualified tutor to support their youngest child on his early path to turning into an English gentleman."
Upon seeing this post, you might readily skip the phrase "initial stages" as mere a turn of phrase.
However, it may be the most important aspect of this distinctive employment listing, as it seeks to hire a teacher for a infant.
Many of applications have already been sent in since the unnamed family published their call for the £180k-a-year tutor, who has to be "an exceptional individual".
Over the last few weeks, the listing has attracted attention in the press, with numerous wondering why?
Innovative Idea
A tutoring expert, head and founder of Tutors International, which is supporting the family in their search, explained that notwithstanding first scepticism, he viewed the concept "forward-looking", and "innovative".
When he spoke with the family, he noted they understood the atypical aspect of their demand, and how young their son is.
Nevertheless, they explained that they "preferred not to postpone any longer" to hire a tutor, as they had postponed until their firstborn was five, and by that age "cultural bias had by then set in".
What exactly did the family refer to by "cultural predisposition"?
It's "all-encompassing", Adam responded. "The way you eat, the manner you speak".
He stated the elder child had picked up "very nuanced, non-verbal cues" from the family, and had taken on their cultural norms. The family told the consultant they did not want this pattern to repeat itself with their younger child.
The plan: To hire a UK tutor, who must speak with standard English accent, to influence the baby right from the beginning.
Natural Absorption
"A great deal of the development at the beginning here is kind of osmotic," said the CEO.
It's through this osmosis that the family are aiming the child will adopt the British traits they wish to impart.
Adam noted the tutor must be an individual who attended "the right kinds of schools – the same kinds of schools as the family hope to send their son to".
"The educator just has to be the appropriate candidate, they'll be doing things they don't even know they're doing, simply by nature," he commented.
Expense Not a Factor
The family informed the expert the successful candidate should ideally also have understanding of or interest in equestrian activities, alpine skiing, the arts and music so as to inspire the child in a broad spectrum of hobbies.
More than that though, he said the family wanted the tutor to enrol the child on a selection of courses so the child would be "pony-riding and picking up an instrument by the time they are around three years old".
In the family's perspective, helping their son become a "UK sophisticate" will result in accomplishment and open doors.
"Considering the rights and wrongs of that, because it's definitely a status symbol," he adds.
However, despite all this tutelage in "Britishness", would the child pick up what is termed cultural leaning from the globally influenced family he lives with in any case?
"Yes", answered he. "The family know this might not succeed, 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 a concern," he explained.
Impractical
There are some in the private teaching field who have similar doubts.
Another CEO, head and founder of a tutoring service, who provides private tutors, stated that "the process of adopting dual cultures, or indeed, becoming oneself, is something that must be lived into, not designed."
He wrote that he had relocated from China to the Britain at the period of seven, and had been raised understanding and practicing both cultures. He continued to learn at the University of Cambridge.
"The concept that a single person can serve as a embodiment of English culture, an individual who can possibly transfer the qualities of a English gentleman upon a infant child, strikes me as optimistic and unrealistic," he stated.
"From my perspective, having a quintessentially British tutor from babyhood will will not necessarily produce the outcome they hope for.
"I wasn't provided with such a figure, and yet I have been lucky enough to experience numerous of the experiences they aspire for their son."
He continued: "The truth is, cultural identity can not be imposed from the outside influences; it must be chosen, and it must come from within."
Buying Britishness
Of course, English culture is something the expert hopes can be taught – and marketed.
"I think the situation that the global community views us in this light is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
