"A household residing in the northern part of London seeks an extraordinary and skilled tutor to guide their youngest child on his early path to growing into an English gentleman."
When reading this listing, you might naturally miss the term "initial stages" as simple a turn of phrase.
Yet, it could be the most important aspect of this unusual job advert, as it attempts to find a teacher for a 12-month-old.
Hundreds of applications have now been submitted since the unnamed family posted their call for the £180,000 per year tutor, who has to be "someone very special".
During the past few weeks, the listing has received interest across the press, with numerous asking why?
Progressive Approach
A tutoring expert, CEO and founder of an education consultancy, which is helping the family in their search, explained that in spite of early scepticism, he viewed the concept "far sighted", and "progressive".
When he spoke with the family, he noted they appreciated the atypical character of their demand, and how early in age their son is.
Nevertheless, they clarified that they "were unwilling to delay any longer" to hire a tutor, as they had waited until their firstborn was five, and by that age "cultural conditioning had already taken hold".
But what did the family indicate by "cultural leaning"?
It's "comprehensive", he answered. "The manner you eat, the manner you speak".
He said the firstborn had picked up "really subtle, body language" from the family, and had taken on their cultural ways. The family informed Adam they hoped to prevent history to happen again with their new baby.
The intention: To hire a UK tutor, who needs to speak with RP, to guide the baby from day one.
Subtle Influence
"A lot of the learning at the outset here is rather osmotic," said the CEO.
It's through this natural absorption that the family are hoping the child will adopt the English characteristics they want to impart.
He said the tutor needed to be someone who attended "the right kinds of schools – the same kinds of schools as the family aspire to send their son to".
"The educator must be the suitable individual, they'll be performing things they don't even know they're doing, just naturally," he commented.
Expense Not a Factor
The family informed Adam the chosen tutor should ideally also have knowledge of or interest in equestrian activities, alpine skiing, creative fields and music so as to shape the child in a broad spectrum of interests.
More than that though, he explained the family desired the tutor to enrol the child on a variety of classes so the child would be "pony-riding and learning an musical instrument by the time they are approximately three years old".
In the family's view, guiding their son develop into a "English gentleman" will lead to accomplishment and provide access.
"Taking into account the pros and cons of that, because it's definitely a class statement," he adds.
However, despite all this instruction in "Britishness", might the child adopt what is termed cultural influence from the international family he lives with anyway?
"Absolutely", replied he. "They understand this could fail, but they've just taken the view of, 'why not attempt it and we'll proceed as soon as we can', because the expense of it is not a concern," he said.
Impractical
A number of in the tutoring industry who share those doubts.
Another CEO, CEO and founder of an educational organization, who provides personal educators, commented that "the process of becoming bicultural, or indeed, discovering oneself, is something that must be lived into, not designed."
The expert explained that he had relocated from China to the Britain at the age of 7 years old, and had been brought up knowing and practicing dual heritages. He went on to learn at a prestigious UK institution.
"The notion that an individual can act as a embodiment of UK identity, a person who can possibly transfer the attributes of a British gentleman onto a 12-month-old child, strikes me as idealistic and impractical," he commented.
"In my experience, engaging a typically British tutor from infancy will does not instantly achieve the goal they desire.
"I did not have such a figure, and however I have been fortunate enough to live numerous of the experiences they hope for their son."
He stated: "The fact is, personal identity should not be forced from the external environment; it must be embraced, and it must come from within."
Purchasing UK Culture
Certainly, Britishness is something Adam hopes can be instructed – and marketed.
"In my view the fact that the world views us in this respect is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
