"A family residing in North London seeks an exceptional and qualified tutor to support their youngest child on his early path to turning into an British gentleman."
Upon seeing this advertisement, you might easily miss the phrase "initial stages" as just a turn of phrase.
However, it could be the most significant element of this unusual position posting, as it aims to find a tutor for a infant.
Many of responses have now been submitted since the unnamed family advertised their search for the highly paid tutor, who has to be "an exceptional individual".
Over the last few weeks, the post has attracted attention across the news, with numerous questioning why?
Forward-Thinking Method
A tutoring expert, chief executive of a global tutoring firm, which is assisting the family in their quest, said that notwithstanding early scepticism, he viewed the concept "far sighted", and "progressive".
When he spoke with the family, he mentioned they understood the unconventional aspect of their requirement, and how immature their son is.
However, they stated that they "preferred not to postpone any longer" to get a tutor, as they had held off until their elder sibling was five, and by that point "cultural conditioning had already set in".
What exactly did the family refer to by "cultural leaning"?
It's "all-encompassing", the expert responded. "The way you eat, the way you speak".
He explained the older sibling had absorbed "extremely delicate, body language" from the family, and had adopted their cultural habits. The family informed the consultant they did not want this pattern to recur with their younger child.
The strategy: To engage a British tutor, who needs to speak with Received Pronunciation, to guide the baby from the very start.
Subtle Influence
"Much of the education at the outset here is rather osmotic," said the CEO.
It's via this subtle influence that the family are expecting the child will adopt the English characteristics they want to cultivate.
He noted the tutor needed to be an individual who went to "the appropriate educational institutions – similar types of schools as the family hope to send their son to".
"The educator simply needs to be the appropriate candidate, they'll be doing things they aren't even aware they're doing, just naturally," he added.
Cost Not Relevant
The family told Adam the successful candidate should ideally also have knowledge of or interest in horse riding, skiing, artistic pursuits and instrumental training so as to inspire the child in a broad spectrum of passions.
Furthermore though, he said the family desired the tutor to enrol the child on a selection of lessons so the child would be "pony-riding and starting an tool by the time they are approximately three years old".
In the family's perspective, helping their son grow into a "British gentleman" will bring about accomplishment and provide access.
"Taking into account the rights and wrongs of that, because it's definitely a class statement," he adds.
But, notwithstanding all this tutelage in "UK identity", could the child adopt what is termed cultural bias from the international family he is raised by anyway?
"Absolutely", said Adam. "The parents realize this could fail, but they've simply adopted the view of, 'we should try and we should start as soon as we can', because the price of it is not a concern," he said.
Overly Optimistic
There are some in the tutoring industry who have those concerns.
An education leader, head and founder of a tutoring service, who supplies individual instructors, wrote that "the development of embracing two identities, or actually, discovering oneself, is something that must be lived into, not engineered."
The expert noted that he had moved from Asia to the United Kingdom at the age of seven, and had been raised knowing and practicing dual heritages. He continued to study at a prestigious UK institution.
"The idea that one individual can act as a living vessel of English culture, someone who can possibly impart the attributes of a British gentleman upon a one-year-old child, appears optimistic and unfeasible," he stated.
"Based on my background, having a distinctly English tutor from babyhood will will not instantly produce the outcome they desire.
"I wasn't provided with such a tutor, and however I have been privileged enough to live many of the situations they aspire for their son."
He added: "The truth is, self-identity can not be imposed from the outside influences; it must be selected, and it must originate internally."
Acquiring Englishness
Of course, English culture is something the CEO hopes can be instructed – and marketed.
"In my view the fact that the world holds us in this regard is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
