"A household based in North London wants to find an remarkable and qualified instructor to assist their smallest child on his early path to growing into an British gentleman."
Looking at this advertisement, you might naturally skip the wording "initial stages" as mere an expression.
However, it could be the crucial element of this unusual position posting, as it aims to find a teacher for a one-year-old.
Hundreds of applications have now been submitted since the unnamed family published their call for the £180k-a-year tutor, who needs to be "an exceptional individual".
Over the last few weeks, the post has received attention throughout the press, with many asking why?
Innovative Idea
The CEO, CEO and founder of an education consultancy, which is assisting the family in their quest, stated that notwithstanding early scepticism, he viewed the idea "far sighted", and "progressive".
When he met the family, he noted they appreciated the unconventional nature of their requirement, and how early in age their son is.
However, 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 bias had by then set in".
What precisely did the family mean by "cultural predisposition"?
It's "everything", the expert responded. "How you eat, the way you speak".
He stated the older sibling had absorbed "extremely delicate, unspoken signals" from the family, and had adopted their cultural norms. The family explained to him they wished to avoid this pattern to repeat itself with their infant.
The strategy: To hire a British tutor, who should speak with standard English accent, to shape the baby from day one.
Natural Absorption
"A great deal of the development at the outset here is rather osmotic," explained the CEO.
It's by means of this natural absorption that the family are hoping the child will pick up the English characteristics they wish to cultivate.
He said the tutor must be somebody who attended "the appropriate educational institutions – similar types of schools as the family aspire to send their son to".
"The instructor simply needs to be the appropriate candidate, they'll be performing things they may not realize they're doing, simply by nature," he said.
Expense Not a Factor
The family told Adam the selected educator should ideally also have knowledge of or passion in riding, winter sports, artistic pursuits and music so as to influence the child in a broad spectrum of interests.
Furthermore though, he said the family hoped the tutor to sign up the child on a range of classes so the child would be "pony-riding and learning an tool by the time they are approximately three years old".
In the family's perspective, helping their son become a "British gentleman" will lead to accomplishment and create opportunities.
"Taking into account the pros and cons of that, because it's definitely a social class indicator," he adds.
Yet, despite all this instruction in "UK identity", could the child adopt alleged cultural influence from the multicultural family he is raised by in any case?
"Absolutely", replied he. "The family realize this may not work, but they've simply adopted the attitude of, 'we should try and we'll proceed as early as we can', because the cost of it is not a concern," he explained.
Idealistic and Unrealistic
A number of in the private teaching field who express these reservations.
Another CEO, CEO and founder of an educational organization, who provides individual instructors, commented that "the journey of embracing two identities, or actually, forming one's identity, is something that must be experienced personally, not manufactured."
He wrote that he had moved from Asia to the UK at the period of seven, and had been raised knowing and living dual heritages. He continued to learn at a prestigious UK institution.
"The idea that a single person can function as a representation of UK identity, a person who can possibly impart the characteristics of a UK sophisticate to a one-year-old child, appears idealistic and unrealistic," he commented.
"Based on my background, having a distinctly UK tutor from infancy will not necessarily create the goal they want.
"I never had such a tutor, and yet I have been privileged enough to experience many of the experiences they desire for their son."
He continued: "The reality is, cultural identity should not be forced from the external environment; it must be chosen, and it must be internally driven."
Buying Britishness
Naturally, UK identity is something the CEO hopes can be taught – and marketed.
"I think the fact that the global community regards us in this respect is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
