"A household based in north London is looking for an extraordinary and qualified instructor to guide their youngest child on his first steps to growing into an British gentleman."
When reading this post, you might naturally skip the term "initial stages" as mere an expression.
However, it could be the most significant aspect of this unique job advert, as it aims to hire a teacher for a infant.
Hundreds of responses have since been submitted since the unnamed family published their search for the £180k-a-year tutor, who must be "a uniquely qualified person".
During the past few weeks, the advert has gained interest across the media, with several questioning why?
Progressive Approach
Adam Caller, chief executive of an education consultancy, which is supporting the family in their quest, explained that notwithstanding initial skepticism, he found the concept "forward-looking", and "progressive".
When he consulted the family, he said they appreciated the unusual nature of their requirement, and how young their son is.
But, they explained that they "were unwilling to delay any longer" to hire a tutor, as they had postponed until their firstborn was five, and by that point "cultural conditioning had by then set in".
What precisely did the family mean by "cultural predisposition"?
It's "comprehensive", Adam answered. "The way you eat, the way you speak".
He said the elder child had picked up "extremely delicate, unspoken signals" from the family, and had adopted their cultural ways. The family told Adam they wished to avoid this pattern to recur with their infant.
The strategy: To hire a UK tutor, who should speak with RP, to guide the baby from the very start.
Osmotic Learning
"A lot of the development at the beginning here is somewhat osmotic," stated the expert.
It's through this natural absorption that the family are expecting the child will acquire the British traits they aim to cultivate.
He noted the tutor had to be somebody who attended "prestigious academies – the same kinds of schools as the family aspire to send their son to".
"The tutor simply needs to be the right kind of person, they'll be doing things they aren't even aware they're doing, just naturally," he commented.
Cost Not Relevant
The family explained to the expert the selected educator should preferably also have understanding of or passion in horse riding, winter sports, artistic pursuits and instrumental training so as to shape the child in a broad spectrum of hobbies.
Furthermore though, he said the family hoped the tutor to register the child on a range of lessons so the child would be "horseback riding and starting an instrument by the time they are around three years old".
In the family's view, assisting their son grow into a "British gentleman" will result in success and create opportunities.
"Taking into account the rights and wrongs of that, because it's undoubtedly a class statement," he comments.
Yet, notwithstanding all this tutelage in "English culture", could the child adopt what is termed cultural bias from the international family he is raised by anyway?
"Absolutely", said he. "The parents realize this may not work, but they've just taken the attitude of, 'we should try and we'll proceed as early as we can', because the expense of it is not a concern," he said.
Idealistic and Unrealistic
There are some in the tutoring industry who express those concerns.
Another CEO, CEO and founder of Blue Education, who supplies personal educators, wrote that "the journey of embracing two identities, or in fact, forming one's identity, is something that must be lived into, not manufactured."
The expert explained that he had relocated from Asia to the United Kingdom at the age of childhood, and had been raised understanding and practicing both cultures. He continued to learn at a prestigious UK institution.
"The notion that one individual can function as a embodiment of Britishness, someone who can possibly impart the attributes of a British gentleman to a 12-month-old child, seems to me naive and unrealistic," he commented.
"From my perspective, having a typically British tutor from babyhood will not instantly create the result they want.
"I never had that kind of mentor, and nevertheless I have been lucky enough to live many of the opportunities they aspire for their son."
He stated: "The truth is, cultural identity can not be forced from the external environment; it must be chosen, and it must come from within."
Acquiring Englishness
Naturally, UK identity is something Adam believes can be instructed – and sold.
"I think the reality that the international society regards us in this regard is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
