"Parents located in north London wants to find an exceptional and experienced educator to guide their most junior child on his early path to growing into an British gentleman."
Looking at this listing, you might readily miss the phrase "initial stages" as mere a turn of phrase.
Yet, it may be the crucial aspect of this unusual position posting, as it seeks to find a tutor for a one-year-old.
Hundreds of applications have now been sent in since the unnamed family advertised their search for the £180k-a-year tutor, who must be "an exceptional individual".
Over the last few weeks, the listing has gained attention throughout the press, with numerous asking why?
Forward-Thinking Method
Adam Caller, CEO and founder of a global tutoring firm, which is supporting the family in their quest, stated that despite first scepticism, he found the concept "forward-looking", and "advanced".
When he spoke with the family, he mentioned they appreciated the unconventional nature of their request, and how early in age their son is.
Nevertheless, they explained that they "didn't want to wait any longer" to hire a tutor, as they had postponed until their older child was five, and by that point "cultural bias had already taken hold".
What precisely did the family refer to by "cultural leaning"?
It's "comprehensive", Adam answered. "The way you eat, the way you speak".
He explained the elder child had picked up "very nuanced, non-verbal cues" from the family, and had assumed their cultural habits. The family explained to Adam they did not want history to recur with their new baby.
The strategy: To engage a English tutor, who should speak with RP, to influence the baby right from the beginning.
Natural Absorption
"Much of the education at the beginning here is somewhat acquired indirectly," stated Adam.
It's via this subtle influence that the family are expecting the child will adopt the English characteristics they wish to impart.
The consultant noted the tutor needed to be an individual who studied at "the right kinds of schools – the same kinds of schools as the family aspire to send their son to".
"The instructor must be the appropriate candidate, they'll be performing things they may not realize they're doing, simply by nature," he added.
Expense Not a Factor
The family explained to him the successful candidate should ideally also have knowledge of or interest in riding, alpine skiing, creative fields and musical activities so as to inspire the child in a broad spectrum of interests.
More than that though, he explained the family desired the tutor to register 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 minds, guiding their son become a "UK sophisticate" will lead to success and create opportunities.
"Considering the rights and wrongs of that, because it's definitely a social class indicator," he comments.
However, notwithstanding all this guidance in "English culture", would the child absorb alleged cultural leaning from the international family he is raised by anyway?
"Certainly", answered the CEO. "The family know this could fail, but they've just taken the view of, 'let's give it a go and we'll proceed as quickly as we can', because the expense of it is not a concern," he explained.
Impractical
Several in the education sector who have these reservations.
Another CEO, chief executive of Blue Education, who provides personal educators, stated that "the journey of embracing two identities, or actually, discovering oneself, is something that must be experienced personally, not designed."
He noted that he had emigrated from the Far East to the United Kingdom at the age of seven, and had been educated experiencing and living both cultures. He progressed to study at a prestigious UK institution.
"The idea that one individual can serve as a embodiment of English culture, a person who can in some way impart the qualities of a UK sophisticate upon a 12-month-old child, strikes me as idealistic and unfeasible," he commented.
"From my perspective, engaging a quintessentially UK tutor from early childhood will will not automatically achieve the goal they desire.
"I never had such a tutor, and nevertheless I have been fortunate enough to enjoy numerous of the situations they desire for their son."
He added: "The fact is, self-identity cannot be forced from the outside; it must be embraced, and it must originate internally."
Purchasing UK Culture
Certainly, Britishness is something the CEO hopes can be instructed – and sold.
"I think the fact that the international society views us in this respect is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
