"A family located in North London wants to find an remarkable and qualified educator to guide their most junior child on his initial journey to growing into an British gentleman."
Looking at this listing, you might easily overlook the term "initial stages" as simple an expression.
But, it may be the most important part of this unusual job advert, as it attempts to recruit a mentor for a one-year-old.
Many of responses have now been sent in since the anonymous family posted their request for the £180,000 per year tutor, who has to be "someone very special".
During the past few weeks, the post has gained attention throughout the news, with several questioning why?
Innovative Idea
A tutoring expert, head and founder of an education consultancy, which is helping the family in their hunt, explained that despite early doubt, he found the concept "forward-looking", and "innovative".
When he consulted the family, he mentioned they recognized the unconventional aspect of their demand, and how young their son is.
But, they stated that they "were unwilling to delay any longer" to engage a tutor, as they had held off until their firstborn was five, and by that age "cultural conditioning had already taken hold".
What precisely does the family mean by "cultural leaning"?
It's "everything", Adam replied. "The manner you eat, the way you speak".
He stated the elder child had picked up "very nuanced, body language" from the family, and had assumed their cultural norms. The family told the consultant they wished to avoid the same situation to recur with their younger child.
The intention: To bring in a British tutor, who must speak with RP, to shape the baby right from the beginning.
Subtle Influence
"A great deal of the education at the start here is rather osmotic," explained the CEO.
It's via this natural absorption that the family are expecting the child will pick up the British traits they aim to instil.
Adam said the tutor must be someone who attended "prestigious academies – comparable categories of schools as the family aspire to send their son to".
"The educator just has to be the suitable individual, they'll be doing things they aren't even aware they're doing, effortlessly," he commented.
Cost Not Relevant
The family explained to him the selected educator should ideally also have knowledge of or passion in horse riding, winter sports, the arts and musical activities so as to inspire the child in a diverse set of hobbies.
Furthermore though, he said the family desired the tutor to register the child on a range of lessons so the child would be "pony-riding and starting an musical instrument by the time they are approximately three years old".
In the family's minds, helping their son develop into a "English gentleman" will lead to success and open doors.
"For all the advantages and disadvantages of that, because it's certainly a social class indicator," he notes.
But, in spite of all this guidance in "UK identity", could the child absorb so-called cultural influence from the multicultural family he is raised by regardless?
"Certainly", replied he. "The parents understand this could fail, but they've merely embraced the attitude of, 'we should try and we should start as quickly as we can', because the price of it is irrelevant," he said.
Idealistic and Unrealistic
There are some in the tutoring industry who express similar reservations.
An education leader, CEO and founder of an educational organization, who also offer individual instructors, stated that "the process of adopting dual cultures, or indeed, discovering oneself, is something that must be experienced personally, not designed."
He wrote that he had moved from the Far East to the UK at the period of childhood, and had been brought up understanding and living both cultures. He progressed to study at Cambridge University.
"The notion that an individual can act as a embodiment of English culture, a person who can somehow transfer the characteristics of a UK sophisticate onto a 12-month-old child, strikes me as idealistic and unfeasible," he wrote.
"From my perspective, employing a typically UK tutor from infancy will does not instantly achieve the result they hope for.
"I did not have such a figure, and nevertheless I have been fortunate enough to experience many of the opportunities they desire for their son."
He added: "The reality is, cultural identity cannot be forced from the outside influences; it must be chosen, and it must be internally driven."
Buying Britishness
Certainly, Britishness is something the expert thinks can be taught – and sold.
"In my view the fact that the world regards us in this regard is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
