"A household residing in North London seeks an extraordinary and qualified instructor to assist their youngest child on his early path to becoming an English gentleman."
Looking at this listing, you might readily overlook the term "initial stages" as simple a turn of phrase.
Yet, it could be the crucial part of this distinctive employment listing, as it seeks to recruit a tutor for a 12-month-old.
Hundreds of submissions have now been received since the unnamed family advertised their call for the highly paid tutor, who must be "someone very special".
Over the last few weeks, the post has gained attention in the news, with many asking why?
Progressive Approach
The CEO, head and founder of an education consultancy, which is supporting the family in their hunt, said that in spite of initial doubt, he viewed the idea "far sighted", and "advanced".
When he consulted the family, he said they appreciated the unusual nature of their request, and how young their son is.
Nevertheless, they explained that they "didn't want to wait any longer" to get a tutor, as they had postponed until their firstborn was five, and by that stage "cultural conditioning had already set in".
What precisely does the family indicate by "cultural bias"?
It's "everything", Adam answered. "The manner you eat, the manner you speak".
He stated the older sibling had absorbed "very nuanced, non-verbal cues" from the family, and had adopted their cultural ways. The family told him they did not want the same situation to recur with their infant.
The intention: To bring in a UK tutor, who needs to speak with standard English accent, to shape the baby right from the beginning.
Subtle Influence
"Much of the education at the beginning here is kind of absorbed naturally," explained the expert.
It's through this osmosis that the family are expecting the child will acquire the UK customs they wish to instil.
He said the tutor had to be an individual who went to "the appropriate educational institutions – the same kinds of schools as the family hope to send their son to".
"The instructor must be the suitable individual, they'll be carrying out things they may not realize they're doing, effortlessly," he said.
Expense Not a Factor
The family explained to Adam the selected educator should ideally also have understanding of or passion in equestrian activities, winter sports, creative fields and music so as to influence the child in a wide range of hobbies.
Additionally though, he explained the family hoped the tutor to register the child on a variety of courses so the child would be "horseback riding and starting an instrument by the time they are about three years old".
In the family's perspective, guiding their son grow into a "English gentleman" will lead to success and open doors.
"Taking into account the advantages and disadvantages of that, because it's definitely a class statement," he adds.
Yet, notwithstanding all this tutelage in "English culture", could the child pick up alleged cultural bias from the multicultural family he lives with anyway?
"Yes", said Adam. "They know this may not work, but they've just taken the attitude of, 'why not attempt it and we should start as early as we can', because the price of it is not relevant," he stated.
Impractical
Several in the tutoring industry who express these doubts.
An education leader, head and founder of an educational organization, who also offer private tutors, wrote that "the process of embracing two identities, or actually, becoming oneself, is something that must be lived into, not engineered."
Peter wrote that he had relocated from the Far East to the United Kingdom at the time of seven, and had been brought up knowing and embodying dual heritages. He progressed to learn at Cambridge University.
"The idea that one individual can serve as a representation of English culture, a person who can somehow transplant the attributes of a English gentleman upon a infant child, appears naive and impractical," he commented.
"From my perspective, employing a distinctly UK tutor from early childhood will will not necessarily produce the outcome they hope for.
"I wasn't provided with such a figure, and however I have been privileged enough to live many of the situations they hope for their son."
He stated: "The reality is, personal identity cannot be dictated from the outside; it must be chosen, and it must originate internally."
Acquiring Englishness
Of course, English culture is something the expert believes can be taught – and marketed.
"In my view the situation that the global community views us in this regard is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
