"Parents located in the northern part of London seeks an exceptional and experienced educator to assist their youngest child on his early path to turning into an English gentleman."
Looking at this listing, you might readily skip the term "initial stages" as just a turn of phrase.
However, it could be the most important aspect of this unusual position posting, as it attempts to recruit a mentor for a 12-month-old.
Many of applications have now been submitted since the anonymous family advertised their search for the highly paid tutor, who needs to be "an exceptional individual".
In recent few weeks, the listing has gained attention across the media, with several questioning why?
Innovative Idea
Adam Caller, head and founder of a global tutoring firm, which is assisting the family in their search, stated that notwithstanding initial skepticism, he viewed the concept "forward-looking", and "innovative".
When he consulted the family, he noted they recognized the unusual aspect of their request, and how immature their son is.
Nevertheless, they explained that they "were unwilling to delay any longer" to engage a tutor, as they had waited until their elder sibling was five, and by that age "cultural conditioning had by then taken hold".
What exactly does the family mean by "cultural leaning"?
It's "all-encompassing", the expert answered. "The manner you eat, the manner you speak".
He explained the firstborn had absorbed "very nuanced, non-verbal cues" from the family, and had taken on their cultural ways. The family explained to the consultant they wished to avoid the same situation to recur with their new baby.
The plan: To hire a British tutor, who needs to speak with Received Pronunciation, to guide the baby right from the beginning.
Osmotic Learning
"Much of the learning at the outset here is somewhat acquired indirectly," explained the CEO.
It's by means of this natural absorption that the family are aiming the child will adopt the British traits they want to impart.
He explained the tutor had to be somebody who studied at "the right kinds of schools – comparable categories of schools as the family plan to send their son to".
"The instructor must be the appropriate candidate, they'll be performing things they may not realize they're doing, just naturally," he said.
Cost Not Relevant
The family explained to Adam the successful candidate should ideally also have knowledge of or passion in riding, skiing, creative fields and instrumental training so as to influence the child in a wide range of passions.
Additionally though, he said the family desired the tutor to register the child on a range of classes so the child would be "horseback riding and picking up an instrument by the time they are approximately three years old".
In the family's minds, assisting their son grow into a "British gentleman" will result in accomplishment and open doors.
"For all the advantages and disadvantages of that, because it's certainly a social class indicator," he comments.
But, despite all this tutelage in "English culture", would the child absorb alleged cultural leaning from the international family he lives with in any case?
"Certainly", said he. "The family know this could fail, but they've simply adopted the attitude of, 'we should try and we should start as soon as we can', because the price of it is irrelevant," he explained.
Idealistic and Unrealistic
There are some in the private teaching field who express those doubts.
Another CEO, chief executive of Blue Education, who also offer personal educators, commented that "the process of adopting dual cultures, or actually, becoming oneself, is something that must be lived into, not designed."
Peter noted that he had emigrated from China to the Britain at the age of seven, and had been raised understanding and embodying both cultures. He continued to study at the University of Cambridge.
"The notion that an individual can function as a representation of UK identity, an individual who can in some way transfer the qualities of a British gentleman to a 12-month-old child, strikes me as optimistic and unfeasible," he stated.
"Based on my background, engaging a quintessentially UK tutor from infancy will will not automatically produce the result they hope for.
"I wasn't provided with such a figure, and nevertheless I have been privileged enough to live several of the situations they hope for their son."
He continued: "The fact is, personal identity cannot be imposed from the external environment; it must be selected, and it must be internally driven."
Acquiring Englishness
Of course, English culture is something the CEO believes can be taught – and commercialized.
"I think the situation that the global community holds us in this light is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
