"A household located in north London is looking for an remarkable and skilled instructor to support their youngest child on his first steps to becoming an English gentleman."
Looking at this post, you might naturally skip the term "initial stages" as mere figurative language.
But, it may be the crucial element of this unusual position posting, as it attempts to hire a tutor for a infant.
Hundreds of applications have now been submitted since the unidentified family published their request for the £180,000 per year tutor, who needs to be "someone very special".
In recent few weeks, the post has received interest throughout the news, with several questioning why?
Innovative Idea
Adam Caller, chief executive of Tutors International, which is assisting the family in their hunt, stated that despite first scepticism, he viewed the plan "far sighted", and "advanced".
When he consulted the family, he said they understood the atypical character of their request, and how immature their son is.
Nevertheless, they stated that they "preferred not to postpone any longer" to hire a tutor, as they had waited until their elder sibling was five, and by that age "cultural influence had already become established".
What exactly does the family refer to by "cultural leaning"?
It's "all-encompassing", Adam answered. "The manner you eat, the way you speak".
He explained the elder child had adopted "very nuanced, non-verbal cues" from the family, and had taken on their cultural norms. The family explained to the consultant they wished to avoid the same situation to repeat itself with their younger child.
The plan: To hire a UK tutor, who needs to speak with standard English accent, to guide the baby right from the beginning.
Natural Absorption
"A lot of the education at the beginning here is kind of osmotic," explained Adam.
It's through this natural absorption that the family are hoping the child will acquire the UK customs they want to instil.
The consultant said the tutor needed to be somebody who went to "prestigious academies – similar types of schools as the family plan to send their son to".
"The educator just has to be the suitable individual, they'll be carrying out things they may not realize they're doing, effortlessly," he commented.
Money No Object
The family explained to Adam the selected educator should ideally also have familiarity of or passion in horse riding, alpine skiing, the arts and instrumental training so as to shape the child in a broad spectrum of interests.
Furthermore though, he stated the family wanted the tutor to register the child on a selection of classes so the child would be "pony-riding and learning an musical instrument by the time they are about three years old".
In the family's view, guiding their son develop into a "English gentleman" will lead to achievement and provide access.
"For all the advantages and disadvantages of that, because it's definitely a social class indicator," he adds.
Yet, despite all this guidance in "English culture", would the child pick up so-called cultural influence from the international family he lives with regardless?
"Yes", said he. "The family understand this could fail, but they've simply adopted the perspective of, 'we should try and we'll proceed as quickly as we can', because the expense of it is not a concern," he stated.
Impractical
There are some in the private teaching field who have similar reservations.
Peter Cui, head and founder of a tutoring service, who provides personal educators, commented that "the development of becoming bicultural, or in fact, discovering oneself, is something that must be experienced personally, not manufactured."
The expert wrote that he had moved from the Far East to the Britain at the period of childhood, and had been educated understanding and embodying dual heritages. He continued to be educated at a prestigious UK institution.
"The concept that a single person can serve as a embodiment of Britishness, an individual who can possibly transfer the attributes of a British gentleman to a infant child, strikes me as idealistic and unrealistic," he stated.
"Based on my background, employing a distinctly UK tutor from early childhood will not necessarily create the result they want.
"I did not have such a tutor, and however I have been fortunate enough to experience several of the opportunities they desire for their son."
He continued: "The truth is, personal identity should not be dictated from the external environment; it must be chosen, and it must come from within."
Buying Britishness
Naturally, English culture is something the expert believes can be taught – and sold.
"In my view the situation that the global community regards us in this regard is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
