"A household residing in North London is looking for an extraordinary and qualified educator to assist their youngest child on his early path to growing into an British gentleman."
Looking at this listing, you might readily skip the phrase "initial stages" as just an expression.
Yet, it could be the most important aspect of this unique position posting, as it attempts to find a teacher for a 12-month-old.
Hundreds of applications have already been submitted since the anonymous family posted their request for the £180,000 per year tutor, who needs to be "someone very special".
Over the last few weeks, the advert has gained notice in the press, with numerous asking why?
Forward-Thinking Method
Adam Caller, head and founder of Tutors International, which is supporting the family in their search, stated that in spite of initial doubt, he viewed the plan "forward-looking", and "innovative".
When he consulted the family, he mentioned they understood the unconventional character of their requirement, and how young their son is.
But, they clarified that they "preferred not to postpone any longer" to hire a tutor, as they had postponed until their elder sibling was five, and by that point "cultural influence had already set in".
What precisely does the family refer to by "cultural predisposition"?
It's "everything", Adam answered. "The manner you eat, how you speak".
He said the elder child had absorbed "very nuanced, non-verbal cues" from the family, and had assumed their cultural norms. The family explained to the consultant they wished to avoid this pattern to repeat itself with their new baby.
The plan: To bring in a English tutor, who needs to speak with RP, to guide the baby right from the beginning.
Osmotic Learning
"A lot of the learning at the beginning here is kind of osmotic," said Adam.
It's via this natural absorption that the family are aiming the child will pick up the UK customs they want to instil.
Adam said the tutor must be somebody who attended "prestigious academies – the same kinds of schools as the family plan to send their son to".
"The tutor must be the appropriate candidate, they'll be carrying out things they may not realize they're doing, simply by nature," he added.
Cost Not Relevant
The family explained to him the chosen tutor should preferably also have familiarity of or passion in riding, alpine skiing, creative fields and instrumental training so as to influence the child in a broad spectrum of interests.
More than that though, he explained the family hoped the tutor to register the child on a range of lessons so the child would be "horseback riding and learning an tool by the time they are about three years old".
In the family's view, guiding their son develop into a "British gentleman" will bring about accomplishment and provide access.
"Taking into account the pros and cons of that, because it's definitely a status symbol," he notes.
Yet, despite all this instruction in "UK identity", would the child pick up so-called cultural bias from the international family he lives with regardless?
"Absolutely", said Adam. "They know this might not succeed, but they've merely embraced the perspective of, 'why not attempt it and we should start as soon as we can', because the price of it is not relevant," he explained.
Impractical
There are some in the tutoring industry who express similar reservations.
Another CEO, CEO and founder of a tutoring service, who supplies personal educators, wrote that "the journey of adopting dual cultures, or in fact, forming one's identity, is something that must be experienced personally, not manufactured."
The expert noted that he had relocated from Asia to the Britain at the period of childhood, and had been educated experiencing and practicing two backgrounds. He went on to be educated at a prestigious UK institution.
"The idea that an individual can act as a living vessel of UK identity, a person who can somehow impart the qualities of a English gentleman upon a one-year-old child, strikes me as optimistic and impractical," he commented.
"Based on my background, having a quintessentially UK tutor from infancy will not automatically achieve the goal they desire.
"I did not have such a figure, and however I have been lucky enough to live several of the opportunities they aspire for their son."
He continued: "The reality is, self-identity should not be dictated from the outside influences; it must be embraced, and it must be internally driven."
Purchasing UK Culture
Certainly, Britishness is something Adam hopes can be instructed – and marketed.
"I think the reality that the world holds us in this regard is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
