"A household located in north London seeks an remarkable and skilled instructor to support their smallest child on his first steps to becoming an British gentleman."
Upon seeing this listing, you might readily skip the term "initial stages" as mere an expression.
However, it might be the most important aspect of this unusual position posting, as it attempts to recruit a teacher for a infant.
Numerous of submissions have already been sent in since the unnamed family advertised their search for the £180k-a-year tutor, who must be "someone very special".
Over the last few weeks, the post has attracted interest throughout the news, with several asking why?
Progressive Approach
A tutoring expert, head and founder of a global tutoring firm, which is assisting the family in their hunt, said that notwithstanding first scepticism, he found the idea "forward-looking", and "advanced".
When he spoke with the family, he noted they understood the unusual character of their request, and how immature their son is.
Nevertheless, they clarified that they "preferred not to postpone any longer" to get a tutor, as they had waited until their elder sibling was five, and by that age "cultural conditioning had already set in".
But what does the family refer to by "cultural predisposition"?
It's "comprehensive", Adam replied. "The way you eat, how you speak".
He said the elder child had picked up "very nuanced, unspoken signals" from the family, and had assumed their cultural norms. The family explained to the consultant they wished to avoid history to happen again with their infant.
The intention: To bring in a British tutor, who must speak with RP, to influence the baby from the very start.
Natural Absorption
"Much of the education at the outset here is kind of osmotic," said the CEO.
It's through this natural absorption that the family are aiming the child will acquire the British traits they want to impart.
The consultant explained the tutor needed to be an individual who studied at "the appropriate educational institutions – similar types of schools as the family aspire to send their son to".
"The educator just has to be the right kind of person, they'll be doing things they aren't even aware they're doing, just naturally," he commented.
Expense Not a Factor
The family told the expert the successful candidate should ideally also have knowledge of or interest in riding, winter sports, creative fields and instrumental training so as to inspire the child in a wide range of interests.
Furthermore though, he said the family desired the tutor to sign up the child on a selection of lessons so the child would be "horseback riding and starting an musical instrument by the time they are approximately three years old".
In the family's minds, guiding their son grow into a "English gentleman" will lead to achievement and open doors.
"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 "Britishness", might the child absorb alleged cultural leaning from the globally influenced family he resides with in any case?
"Certainly", answered Adam. "The parents realize this may not work, but they've just taken the attitude of, 'why not attempt it and we should start as early as we can', because the cost of it is not relevant," he said.
Idealistic and Unrealistic
Several in the education sector who share these doubts.
Peter Cui, chief executive of Blue Education, who provides private tutors, stated that "the journey of adopting dual cultures, or actually, becoming oneself, is something that must be lived into, not manufactured."
He wrote that he had moved from China to the United Kingdom at the age of 7 years old, and had been educated understanding and embodying two backgrounds. He went on to be educated at a prestigious UK institution.
"The idea that an individual can function as a living vessel of UK identity, someone who can somehow transplant the attributes of a UK sophisticate to a infant child, strikes me as idealistic and impractical," he wrote.
"From my perspective, engaging a quintessentially UK tutor from early childhood will does not instantly achieve the outcome they want.
"I wasn't provided with that kind of mentor, and nevertheless I have been lucky enough to enjoy many of the opportunities they hope for their son."
He added: "The reality is, self-identity can not be forced from the outside; it must be chosen, and it must originate internally."
Acquiring Englishness
Certainly, Britishness is something the expert thinks can be taught – and sold.
"I believe the reality that the global community regards us in this respect is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
