"Parents based in North London seeks an exceptional and qualified tutor to guide their youngest child on his initial journey to becoming an English gentleman."
Upon seeing this post, you might readily skip the wording "initial stages" as simple an expression.
But, it could be the crucial part of this unusual job advert, as it attempts to hire a mentor for a 12-month-old.
Hundreds of applications have now been submitted since the anonymous family posted their call for the £180k-a-year tutor, who must be "someone very special".
During the past few weeks, the advert has attracted attention in the press, with several asking why?
Progressive Approach
A tutoring expert, head and founder of an education consultancy, which is supporting the family in their search, said that despite initial skepticism, he considered the concept "far sighted", and "advanced".
When he spoke with the family, he said they understood the atypical aspect of their requirement, and how early in age their son is.
Nevertheless, they explained that they "preferred not to postpone any longer" to get a tutor, as they had postponed until their firstborn was five, and by that stage "cultural conditioning had already taken hold".
What exactly did the family mean by "cultural leaning"?
It's "everything", he replied. "How you eat, how you speak".
He explained the firstborn had absorbed "extremely delicate, body language" from the family, and had adopted their cultural norms. The family explained to Adam they did not want history to repeat itself with their new baby.
The strategy: To hire a English tutor, who needs to speak with RP, to shape the baby from the very start.
Subtle Influence
"A lot of the learning at the outset here is rather acquired indirectly," said the expert.
It's via this subtle influence that the family are hoping the child will adopt the British traits they wish to instil.
He explained the tutor must be somebody who attended "prestigious academies – the same kinds of schools as the family hope to send their son to".
"The instructor just has to be the appropriate candidate, they'll be doing things they may not realize they're doing, just naturally," he said.
Money No Object
The family told him the successful candidate should preferably also have familiarity of or interest in equestrian activities, winter sports, artistic pursuits and instrumental training so as to shape the child in a diverse set of passions.
More than that though, he stated the family wanted the tutor to enrol the child on a variety of lessons so the child would be "horseback riding and starting an musical instrument by the time they are approximately three years old".
In the family's perspective, guiding their son become a "UK sophisticate" will lead to achievement and create opportunities.
"Taking into account the advantages and disadvantages of that, because it's certainly a class statement," he comments.
But, despite all this tutelage in "UK identity", would the child adopt alleged cultural influence from the multicultural family he is raised by regardless?
"Absolutely", answered Adam. "The family understand this could fail, but they've simply adopted the perspective of, 'we should try and we should start as early as we can', because the price of it is not a concern," he stated.
Impractical
A number of in the private teaching field who have those reservations.
Peter Cui, head and founder of Blue Education, who provides individual instructors, stated that "the development of embracing two identities, or actually, discovering oneself, is something that must be lived into, not designed."
The expert wrote that he had relocated from China to the UK at the time of childhood, and had been raised knowing and living two backgrounds. He progressed to study at a prestigious UK institution.
"The idea that a single person can function as a living vessel of UK identity, someone who can in some way transplant the characteristics of a British gentleman to a 12-month-old child, appears naive and unfeasible," he stated.
"From my perspective, engaging a quintessentially British tutor from infancy will does not automatically produce the goal they desire.
"I did not have such a figure, and nevertheless I have been privileged enough to live numerous of the situations they hope for their son."
He stated: "The reality is, cultural identity cannot be imposed from the outside influences; it must be embraced, and it must originate internally."
Acquiring Englishness
Of course, Britishness is something Adam thinks can be educated – and marketed.
"In my view the situation that the international society regards us in this regard is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
