"A family based in North London seeks an exceptional and qualified educator to support their most junior child on his early path to turning into an English gentleman."
When reading this advertisement, you might easily skip the wording "initial stages" as simple an expression.
But, it could be the most important part of this distinctive position posting, as it attempts to hire a mentor for a one-year-old.
Hundreds of submissions have already been submitted since the unidentified family advertised their search for the £180k-a-year tutor, who needs to be "an exceptional individual".
Over the last few weeks, the post has attracted interest across the press, with many questioning why?
Innovative Idea
The CEO, head and founder of a global tutoring firm, which is assisting the family in their search, said that in spite of initial skepticism, he viewed the idea "far sighted", and "advanced".
When he consulted the family, he said they understood the atypical character of their request, and how young their son is.
Nevertheless, they clarified that they "preferred not to postpone any longer" to engage a tutor, as they had waited until their older child was five, and by that point "cultural conditioning had already set in".
What precisely does the family indicate by "cultural leaning"?
It's "comprehensive", the expert answered. "The way you eat, how you speak".
He explained the older sibling had absorbed "very nuanced, unspoken signals" from the family, and had adopted their cultural norms. The family informed Adam they did not want this pattern to happen again with their younger child.
The intention: To engage a British tutor, who must speak with Received Pronunciation, to shape the baby from the very start.
Osmotic Learning
"A lot of the learning at the outset here is kind of acquired indirectly," explained the expert.
It's through this subtle influence that the family are aiming the child will pick up the British traits they aim to impart.
He explained the tutor had to be somebody who attended "prestigious academies – comparable categories of schools as the family aspire to send their son to".
"The educator simply needs to be the right kind of person, they'll be doing things they aren't even aware they're doing, effortlessly," he said.
Cost Not Relevant
The family explained to the expert the chosen tutor should ideally also have familiarity of or enthusiasm in equestrian activities, alpine skiing, creative fields and musical activities so as to influence the child in a diverse set of interests.
Furthermore though, he stated the family wanted the tutor to enrol the child on a range of courses so the child would be "pony-riding and learning an tool by the time they are around three years old".
In the family's view, helping their son grow into a "UK sophisticate" will lead to success and open doors.
"For all the rights and wrongs of that, because it's definitely a social class indicator," he comments.
However, in spite of all this guidance in "English culture", might the child adopt alleged cultural leaning from the international family he resides with regardless?
"Absolutely", replied Adam. "The parents realize this could fail, but they've merely embraced the attitude of, 'why not attempt it and let's go as early as we can', because the price of it is irrelevant," he stated.
Idealistic and Unrealistic
Several in the tutoring industry who share those reservations.
Peter Cui, CEO and founder of an educational organization, who provides personal educators, commented that "the process of becoming bicultural, or indeed, forming one's identity, is something that must be lived into, not engineered."
The expert noted that he had relocated from China to the United Kingdom at the age of childhood, and had been brought up experiencing and embodying both cultures. He continued to study at a prestigious UK institution.
"The concept that an individual can function as a embodiment of English culture, someone who can possibly impart the attributes of a English gentleman upon a one-year-old child, seems to me idealistic and unfeasible," he commented.
"Based on my background, having a quintessentially English tutor from early childhood will not instantly produce the result they want.
"I did not have such a tutor, and nevertheless I have been privileged enough to experience several of the experiences they desire for their son."
He stated: "The reality is, cultural identity should not be forced from the outside influences; it must be chosen, and it must originate internally."
Acquiring Englishness
Naturally, UK identity is something the expert thinks can be instructed – and marketed.
"In my view the reality that the world regards us in this respect is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
