"A family located in the northern part of London wants to find an exceptional and qualified educator to assist their most junior child on his first steps to becoming an English gentleman."
When reading this listing, you might readily skip the term "initial stages" as just an expression.
However, it may be the most significant element of this unusual employment listing, as it seeks to recruit a tutor for a one-year-old.
Hundreds of submissions have now been received since the unidentified family posted their request for the £180,000 per year tutor, who must be "a uniquely qualified person".
During the past few weeks, the listing has attracted interest in the news, with several asking why?
Innovative Idea
A tutoring expert, head and founder of a global tutoring firm, which is helping the family in their quest, stated that despite initial scepticism, he viewed the concept "visionary", and "progressive".
When he spoke with the family, he said they understood the unconventional character of their request, and how young their son is.
Nevertheless, they explained that they "didn't want to wait any longer" to engage a tutor, as they had waited until their older child was five, and by that age "cultural conditioning had by then become established".
But what did the family mean by "cultural predisposition"?
It's "comprehensive", the expert answered. "How you eat, the manner you speak".
He explained the older sibling had picked up "extremely delicate, non-verbal cues" from the family, and had taken on their cultural habits. The family told him they hoped to prevent the same situation to recur with their infant.
The strategy: To hire a UK tutor, who must speak with Received Pronunciation, to influence the baby from day one.
Subtle Influence
"A lot of the learning at the beginning here is kind of absorbed naturally," stated the expert.
It's through this osmosis that the family are hoping the child will adopt the UK customs they wish to cultivate.
The consultant explained the tutor must be someone who attended "the appropriate educational institutions – comparable categories of schools as the family aspire to send their son to".
"The tutor just has to be the appropriate candidate, they'll be carrying out things they don't even know they're doing, effortlessly," he said.
Cost Not Relevant
The family explained to him the successful candidate should ideally also have understanding of or interest in horse riding, winter sports, the arts and musical activities so as to inspire the child in a wide range of passions.
Furthermore though, he stated the family wanted the tutor to enrol the child on a variety of classes 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 develop into a "English gentleman" will bring about accomplishment and provide access.
"Taking into account the advantages and disadvantages of that, because it's certainly a class statement," he comments.
However, notwithstanding all this instruction in "UK identity", could the child absorb what is termed cultural bias from the multicultural family he lives with anyway?
"Certainly", replied the CEO. "The parents realize this may not work, but they've just taken the attitude of, 'why not attempt it and let's go as early as we can', because the expense of it is not a concern," he explained.
Overly Optimistic
There are some in the education sector who express these doubts.
Another CEO, CEO and founder of Blue Education, who also offer personal educators, wrote that "the development of adopting dual cultures, or actually, discovering oneself, is something that must be grown into, not engineered."
Peter wrote that he had relocated from the Far East to the UK at the period of childhood, and had been brought up understanding and embodying both cultures. He went on to be educated at Cambridge University.
"The concept that one individual can act as a representation of Britishness, a person who can in some way impart the qualities of a English gentleman upon a infant child, strikes me as optimistic and unfeasible," he commented.
"In my experience, employing a typically English tutor from infancy will not necessarily achieve the outcome they desire.
"I wasn't provided with such a tutor, and however I have been privileged enough to experience several of the experiences they aspire for their son."
He continued: "The reality is, self-identity cannot be imposed from the outside; it must be selected, and it must be internally driven."
Acquiring Englishness
Certainly, English culture is something the expert believes can be instructed – and sold.
"I believe the reality that the world views us in this respect is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
