"A family located in the northern part of London wants to find an extraordinary and experienced educator to guide their most junior child on his early path to growing into an British gentleman."
Upon seeing this listing, you might readily skip the phrase "initial stages" as mere an expression.
However, it could be the crucial aspect of this unusual job advert, as it attempts to hire a mentor for a infant.
Hundreds of responses have now been received since the unidentified family advertised their search for the highly paid tutor, who has to be "an exceptional individual".
Over the last few weeks, the listing has gained notice in the press, with many questioning why?
Forward-Thinking Method
Adam Caller, chief executive of a global tutoring firm, which is helping the family in their quest, stated that despite early scepticism, he found the idea "far sighted", and "innovative".
When he spoke with the family, he mentioned they understood the unconventional aspect of their requirement, and how young their son is.
However, they explained that they "were unwilling to delay any longer" to get a tutor, as they had waited until their older child was five, and by that point "cultural influence had by then set in".
What precisely did the family refer to by "cultural predisposition"?
It's "everything", the expert responded. "How you eat, the way you speak".
He said the older sibling had absorbed "extremely delicate, non-verbal cues" from the family, and had adopted their cultural habits. The family explained to Adam they hoped to prevent this pattern to happen again with their younger child.
The intention: To engage a UK tutor, who needs to speak with standard English accent, to influence the baby from day one.
Natural Absorption
"A great deal of the education at the start here is kind of absorbed naturally," explained Adam.
It's by means of this natural absorption that the family are hoping the child will pick up the UK customs they aim to cultivate.
He noted the tutor had to be someone who studied at "the appropriate educational institutions – the same kinds of schools as the family hope to send their son to".
"The educator just has to be the appropriate candidate, they'll be doing things they aren't even aware they're doing, effortlessly," he commented.
Expense Not a Factor
The family told Adam the chosen tutor should preferably also have understanding of or passion in horse riding, skiing, the arts and music so as to inspire the child in a diverse set of interests.
More than that though, he explained the family desired the tutor to enrol the child on a selection of courses so the child would be "horseback riding and starting an instrument by the time they are about three years old".
In the family's view, helping their son develop into a "UK sophisticate" will lead to accomplishment and open doors.
"Considering the advantages and disadvantages of that, because it's undoubtedly a class statement," he notes.
However, despite all this tutelage in "UK identity", could the child absorb so-called cultural leaning from the multicultural family he is raised by regardless?
"Absolutely", answered the CEO. "The parents realize this could fail, but they've just taken the view of, 'let's give it a go and we should start as early as we can', because the expense of it is not relevant," he stated.
Impractical
There are some in the private teaching field who share these reservations.
Peter Cui, head and founder of a tutoring service, who provides individual instructors, stated that "the process of becoming bicultural, or in fact, becoming oneself, is something that must be lived into, not engineered."
The expert wrote that he had relocated from the Far East to the UK at the time of childhood, and had been educated understanding and practicing both cultures. He progressed to be educated at the University of Cambridge.
"The concept that one individual can act as a representation of Britishness, a person who can somehow impart the characteristics of a English gentleman to a one-year-old child, appears idealistic and unfeasible," he commented.
"In my experience, having a distinctly English tutor from infancy will will not instantly achieve the result they hope for.
"I never had such a tutor, and yet I have been privileged enough to live several of the opportunities they desire for their son."
He continued: "The truth is, cultural identity should not be imposed from the outside; it must be chosen, and it must come from within."
Acquiring Englishness
Of course, UK identity is something Adam believes can be taught – and marketed.
"I think the reality that the international society holds us in this light is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
