"Parents based in the northern part of London seeks an exceptional and experienced instructor to assist their youngest child on his early path to turning into an British gentleman."
When reading this listing, you might naturally overlook the phrase "initial stages" as just an expression.
Yet, it may be the crucial element of this unusual job advert, as it seeks to find a teacher for a 12-month-old.
Many of responses have already been received since the unidentified family advertised their request for the highly paid tutor, who needs to be "someone very special".
Over the last few weeks, the advert has gained interest throughout the news, with several asking why?
Forward-Thinking Method
Adam Caller, chief executive of a global tutoring firm, which is assisting the family in their hunt, said that notwithstanding early skepticism, he found the plan "visionary", and "advanced".
When he consulted the family, he said they understood the atypical character of their demand, and how young their son is.
However, they stated that they "preferred not to postpone any longer" to engage a tutor, as they had postponed until their older child was five, and by that age "cultural bias had already become established".
But what did the family refer to by "cultural predisposition"?
It's "comprehensive", the expert replied. "The manner you eat, the manner you speak".
He explained the firstborn had absorbed "extremely delicate, unspoken signals" from the family, and had taken on their cultural ways. The family informed him they hoped to prevent history to repeat itself with their new baby.
The plan: To bring in a English tutor, who must speak with standard English accent, to shape the baby from day one.
Subtle Influence
"Much of the development at the outset here is somewhat acquired indirectly," explained the expert.
It's by means of this natural absorption that the family are hoping the child will adopt the British traits they aim to instil.
The consultant noted the tutor must be someone who studied at "the appropriate educational institutions – the same kinds 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 may not realize they're doing, just naturally," he commented.
Expense Not a Factor
The family explained to Adam the successful candidate should preferably also have understanding of or interest in equestrian activities, winter sports, creative fields and musical activities so as to influence the child in a wide range of interests.
More than that though, he stated the family wanted the tutor to sign up the child on a range of courses so the child would be "pony-riding and learning an instrument by the time they are approximately three years old".
In the family's minds, helping their son become a "UK sophisticate" will lead to accomplishment and open doors.
"For all the advantages and disadvantages of that, because it's certainly a status symbol," he notes.
But, in spite of all this instruction in "Britishness", would the child absorb alleged cultural leaning from the multicultural family he lives with in any case?
"Absolutely", replied he. "They realize this may not work, but they've just taken the view of, 'we should try and we should start as soon as we can', because the expense of it is not relevant," he explained.
Idealistic and Unrealistic
Several in the tutoring industry who share these doubts.
An education leader, head and founder of Blue Education, who also offer private tutors, commented that "the development of becoming bicultural, or actually, discovering oneself, is something that must be experienced personally, not engineered."
The expert noted that he had relocated from Asia to the UK at the time of seven, and had been educated knowing and living dual heritages. He progressed to be educated at the University of Cambridge.
"The concept that a single person can serve as a living vessel of UK identity, a person who can in some way impart the qualities of a English gentleman onto a 12-month-old child, appears idealistic and unrealistic," he stated.
"In my experience, engaging a quintessentially UK tutor from early childhood will does not automatically achieve the result they hope for.
"I did not have such a tutor, and nevertheless I have been privileged enough to live several of the situations they aspire for their son."
He stated: "The fact is, self-identity cannot be forced from the outside; it must be selected, and it must be internally driven."
Buying Britishness
Of course, English culture is something the CEO believes can be taught – and marketed.
"In my view the situation that the global community views us in this regard is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
