"A family residing in North London wants to find an remarkable and qualified tutor to support their youngest child on his early path to growing into an British gentleman."
Looking at this advertisement, you might easily overlook the term "initial stages" as just figurative language.
But, it may be the most important aspect of this unusual position posting, as it aims to recruit a tutor for a infant.
Many of submissions have now been sent in since the unnamed family posted their search for the £180k-a-year tutor, who has to be "an exceptional individual".
Over the last few weeks, the advert has attracted interest throughout the press, with many wondering why?
Progressive Approach
The CEO, head and founder of an education consultancy, which is helping the family in their quest, said that notwithstanding early doubt, he viewed the plan "visionary", and "progressive".
When he consulted the family, he noted they understood the atypical nature of their demand, and how immature their son is.
But, they stated that they "didn't want to wait any longer" to engage a tutor, as they had held off until their firstborn was five, and by that point "cultural bias had already become established".
What exactly did the family indicate by "cultural leaning"?
It's "all-encompassing", Adam answered. "The manner you eat, the manner you speak".
He explained the older sibling had adopted "very nuanced, non-verbal cues" from the family, and had assumed their cultural norms. The family informed the consultant they wished to avoid this pattern to happen again with their infant.
The plan: To engage a English tutor, who must speak with RP, to guide the baby from the very start.
Natural Absorption
"A lot of the learning at the outset here is somewhat absorbed naturally," said the CEO.
It's via this natural absorption that the family are aiming the child will adopt the English characteristics they want to cultivate.
Adam explained the tutor needed to be somebody who attended "the right kinds of schools – comparable categories of schools as the family hope to send their son to".
"The tutor must be the appropriate candidate, they'll be performing things they may not realize they're doing, just naturally," he added.
Cost Not Relevant
The family explained to Adam the selected educator should ideally also have understanding of or interest in horse riding, skiing, the arts and instrumental training so as to inspire the child in a wide range of hobbies.
Furthermore though, he explained the family wanted the tutor to enrol the child on a variety of lessons so the child would be "pony-riding and picking up an musical instrument by the time they are about three years old".
In the family's perspective, helping their son become a "UK sophisticate" will result in achievement and provide access.
"For all the rights and wrongs of that, because it's undoubtedly a social class indicator," he adds.
Yet, despite all this guidance in "UK identity", could the child absorb what is termed cultural influence from the globally influenced family he resides with anyway?
"Yes", said he. "The parents know this may not work, but they've merely embraced the attitude of, 'why not attempt it and we'll proceed as soon as we can', because the expense of it is not relevant," he stated.
Overly Optimistic
Several in the private teaching field who have similar reservations.
Another CEO, chief executive of Blue Education, who also offer individual instructors, commented that "the process of adopting dual cultures, or actually, discovering oneself, is something that must be grown into, not engineered."
The expert wrote that he had relocated from China to the Britain at the period of seven, and had been brought up understanding and living both cultures. He went on to learn at a prestigious UK institution.
"The notion that a single person can function as a embodiment of English culture, a person who can somehow transplant the attributes of a English gentleman onto a one-year-old child, strikes me as idealistic and unrealistic," he commented.
"In my experience, employing a typically UK tutor from early childhood will not automatically produce the goal they want.
"I never had such a tutor, and yet I have been privileged enough to enjoy many of the experiences they hope for their son."
He stated: "The reality is, cultural identity cannot be dictated from the outside influences; it must be embraced, and it must originate internally."
Acquiring Englishness
Of course, Britishness is something the expert thinks can be instructed – and commercialized.
"I believe the situation that the global community holds us in this light is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
