"A household based in north London is looking for an extraordinary and experienced educator to guide their most junior child on his first steps to turning into an British gentleman."
Upon seeing this listing, you might naturally overlook the term "initial stages" as mere figurative language.
Yet, it could be the crucial element of this unique job advert, as it seeks to hire a teacher for a 12-month-old.
Many of submissions have now been sent in since the unnamed family advertised their search for the £180,000 per year tutor, who needs to be "an exceptional individual".
During the past few weeks, the post has gained interest throughout the media, with numerous asking why?
Forward-Thinking Method
A tutoring expert, CEO and founder of Tutors International, which is supporting the family in their hunt, said that in spite of early doubt, he viewed the plan "far sighted", and "innovative".
When he met the family, he noted they appreciated the atypical aspect of their request, and how immature their son is.
However, they clarified that they "were unwilling to delay any longer" to get a tutor, as they had postponed until their firstborn was five, and by that point "cultural conditioning had already taken hold".
What precisely does the family indicate by "cultural bias"?
It's "everything", he responded. "The manner you eat, the way you speak".
He said the firstborn had picked up "very nuanced, non-verbal cues" from the family, and had assumed their cultural habits. The family explained to Adam they wished to avoid history to happen again with their new baby.
The strategy: To engage a British tutor, who should speak with RP, to influence the baby from day one.
Subtle Influence
"Much of the development at the start here is somewhat absorbed naturally," explained the expert.
It's via this subtle influence that the family are expecting the child will adopt the English characteristics they wish to impart.
The consultant said the tutor needed to be somebody who went to "the appropriate educational institutions – comparable categories of schools as the family hope to send their son to".
"The educator simply needs to be the suitable individual, they'll be performing things they don't even know they're doing, just naturally," he commented.
Cost Not Relevant
The family informed the expert the successful candidate should ideally also have knowledge of or interest in riding, alpine skiing, the arts and musical activities so as to inspire the child in a wide range of passions.
More than that though, he stated the family hoped the tutor to enrol the child on a variety of courses so the child would be "horseback riding and picking up an musical instrument by the time they are about three years old".
In the family's perspective, guiding their son grow into a "British gentleman" will lead to achievement and open doors.
"Taking into account the pros and cons of that, because it's certainly a class statement," he adds.
Yet, in spite of all this tutelage in "English culture", would the child adopt what is termed cultural influence from the globally influenced family he resides with regardless?
"Certainly", answered the CEO. "They realize this may not work, but they've merely embraced the attitude of, 'we should try and we'll proceed as quickly as we can', because the price of it is not relevant," he said.
Impractical
Several in the tutoring industry who express these concerns.
Peter Cui, chief executive of an educational organization, who provides individual instructors, wrote that "the development of adopting dual cultures, or in fact, forming one's identity, is something that must be experienced personally, not manufactured."
The expert explained that he had emigrated from China to the Britain at the time of childhood, and had been raised experiencing and living both cultures. He went on to study at a prestigious UK institution.
"The notion that an individual can serve as a living vessel of English culture, someone who can in some way transfer the attributes of a English gentleman upon a one-year-old child, seems to me optimistic and unrealistic," he stated.
"Based on my background, employing a distinctly British tutor from babyhood will does not automatically achieve the outcome they want.
"I never had such a figure, and nevertheless I have been privileged enough to enjoy many of the situations they aspire for their son."
He stated: "The fact is, cultural identity should not be forced from the outside; it must be chosen, and it must be internally driven."
Buying Britishness
Certainly, Britishness is something Adam hopes can be educated – and marketed.
"I believe the situation that the global community views us in this light is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
