"A household residing in North London wants to find an exceptional and qualified instructor to assist their smallest child on his early path to turning into an English gentleman."
Upon seeing this listing, you might easily overlook the term "initial stages" as just figurative language.
But, it might be the crucial element of this unusual position posting, as it aims to find a teacher for a infant.
Many of submissions have already been submitted since the anonymous family published their request for the highly paid tutor, who has to be "a uniquely qualified person".
During the past few weeks, the listing has gained attention throughout the press, with many questioning why?
Innovative Idea
Adam Caller, chief executive of Tutors International, which is supporting the family in their quest, said that in spite of first skepticism, he viewed the plan "forward-looking", and "progressive".
When he spoke with the family, he said they appreciated the atypical character of their request, and how immature their son is.
Nevertheless, they clarified that they "preferred not to postpone any longer" to engage a tutor, as they had waited until their elder sibling was five, and by that point "cultural bias had already become established".
What precisely does the family indicate by "cultural leaning"?
It's "all-encompassing", he replied. "The manner you eat, the way you speak".
He explained the older sibling had picked up "really subtle, body language" from the family, and had taken on their cultural habits. The family told Adam they wished to avoid this pattern to recur with their new baby.
The plan: To bring in a UK tutor, who should speak with RP, to influence the baby from day one.
Natural Absorption
"A great deal of the learning at the beginning here is rather osmotic," stated the expert.
It's via this osmosis that the family are hoping the child will pick up the UK customs they want to impart.
He noted the tutor needed to be an individual who studied at "the right kinds of schools – the same kinds of schools as the family plan to send their son to".
"The instructor must be the right kind of person, they'll be carrying out things they don't even know they're doing, just naturally," he added.
Expense Not a Factor
The family told the expert the successful candidate should ideally also have knowledge of or passion in horse riding, skiing, creative fields and musical activities so as to shape the child in a wide range of passions.
More than that though, he explained the family hoped the tutor to register the child on a selection of classes so the child would be "horseback riding and learning an tool by the time they are around three years old".
In the family's minds, assisting their son develop into a "English gentleman" will bring about achievement and open doors.
"For all the rights and wrongs of that, because it's definitely a social class indicator," he comments.
But, despite all this instruction in "English culture", would the child adopt alleged cultural leaning from the globally influenced family he resides with anyway?
"Certainly", said the CEO. "The parents realize this might not succeed, but they've simply adopted the attitude of, 'why not attempt it and we'll proceed as early as we can', because the expense of it is not a concern," he explained.
Idealistic and Unrealistic
A number of in the education sector who share those reservations.
An education leader, CEO and founder of Blue Education, who also offer private tutors, commented that "the journey of becoming bicultural, or in fact, discovering oneself, is something that must be grown into, not designed."
The expert explained that he had moved from China to the UK at the time of seven, and had been educated knowing and living dual heritages. He went on to be educated at Cambridge University.
"The notion that an individual can function as a embodiment of English culture, someone who can in some way transfer the attributes of a UK sophisticate to a 12-month-old child, strikes me as optimistic and unfeasible," he commented.
"Based on my background, employing a distinctly British tutor from babyhood will will not automatically achieve the outcome they want.
"I did not have such a figure, and however I have been fortunate enough to experience many of the experiences they hope for their son."
He added: "The fact is, personal identity should not be dictated from the external environment; it must be embraced, and it must come from within."
Purchasing UK Culture
Of course, UK identity is something Adam hopes can be instructed – and sold.
"In my view the fact that the international society holds us in this regard is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
