"A household located in north London seeks an extraordinary and experienced instructor to guide their youngest child on his early path to becoming an British gentleman."
Looking at this advertisement, you might easily overlook the term "initial stages" as simple an expression.
Yet, it could be the most significant aspect of this distinctive position posting, as it aims to hire a tutor for a 12-month-old.
Many of submissions have already been sent in since the anonymous family advertised their request for the highly paid tutor, who needs to be "someone very special".
In recent few weeks, the post has gained interest across the press, with several asking why?
Progressive Approach
Adam Caller, CEO and founder of an education consultancy, which is supporting the family in their quest, stated that in spite of first scepticism, he viewed the plan "visionary", and "advanced".
When he consulted the family, he noted they recognized the atypical aspect of their request, and how early in age their son is.
However, they stated that they "didn't want to wait any longer" to engage a tutor, as they had postponed until their older child was five, and by that age "cultural bias had already taken hold".
What exactly did the family indicate by "cultural leaning"?
It's "everything", he replied. "How you eat, the way you speak".
He stated the older sibling had absorbed "extremely delicate, body language" from the family, and had taken on their cultural habits. The family informed him they did not want history to repeat itself with their new baby.
The plan: To bring in a UK tutor, who needs to speak with standard English accent, to guide the baby right from the beginning.
Osmotic Learning
"Much of the education at the start here is rather osmotic," stated Adam.
It's through this subtle influence that the family are expecting the child will pick up the English characteristics they wish to impart.
Adam explained the tutor needed to be someone who studied at "the right kinds of schools – similar types of schools as the family hope to send their son to".
"The tutor must be the suitable individual, they'll be performing things they don't even know they're doing, simply by nature," he said.
Money No Object
The family informed him the chosen tutor should ideally also have understanding of or interest in equestrian activities, winter sports, creative fields and music so as to influence the child in a wide range of interests.
Additionally though, he explained the family desired the tutor to register the child on a variety of courses so the child would be "pony-riding and picking up an tool by the time they are approximately three years old".
In the family's perspective, guiding their son develop into a "British gentleman" will bring about success and provide access.
"Taking into account the pros and cons of that, because it's definitely a class statement," he comments.
However, in spite of all this guidance in "English culture", would the child pick up so-called cultural influence from the multicultural family he lives with anyway?
"Yes", said Adam. "The parents understand this could fail, but they've merely embraced the view of, 'why not attempt it and let's go as soon as we can', because the cost of it is not relevant," he explained.
Impractical
There are some in the private teaching field who express these concerns.
An education leader, chief executive of a tutoring service, who also offer individual instructors, wrote that "the process of adopting dual cultures, or in fact, becoming oneself, is something that must be lived into, not designed."
He noted that he had moved from Asia to the UK at the time of 7 years old, and had been raised knowing and living dual heritages. He went on to study at Cambridge University.
"The concept that a single person can serve as a embodiment of English culture, a person who can in some way transplant the qualities of a English gentleman upon a one-year-old child, seems to me optimistic and unfeasible," he stated.
"In my experience, employing a quintessentially English tutor from infancy will not instantly produce the result they hope for.
"I wasn't provided with such a figure, and nevertheless I have been privileged enough to live many of the opportunities they aspire for their son."
He continued: "The reality is, personal identity can not be imposed from the outside influences; it must be embraced, and it must originate internally."
Acquiring Englishness
Of course, English culture is something the CEO thinks can be instructed – and commercialized.
"I believe the situation that the international society holds us in this light is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
