"A household located in North London wants to find an exceptional and skilled educator to assist their youngest child on his early path to turning into an English gentleman."
Upon seeing this advertisement, you might easily overlook the term "initial stages" as just a turn of phrase.
Yet, it might be the crucial element of this distinctive position posting, as it attempts to hire a mentor for a 12-month-old.
Hundreds of applications have since been sent in since the anonymous family posted their request for the highly paid tutor, who needs to be "someone very special".
Over the last few weeks, the post has received attention across the news, with several wondering why?
Forward-Thinking Method
A tutoring expert, chief executive of a global tutoring firm, which is supporting the family in their search, said that in spite of first doubt, he considered the idea "far sighted", and "progressive".
When he spoke with the family, he noted they appreciated the unconventional nature of their demand, and how immature their son is.
However, they clarified that they "didn't want to wait any longer" to get a tutor, as they had held off until their elder sibling was five, and by that point "cultural influence had by then taken hold".
What precisely did the family refer to by "cultural leaning"?
It's "all-encompassing", the expert answered. "How you eat, the manner you speak".
He explained the older sibling had adopted "really subtle, non-verbal cues" from the family, and had assumed their cultural ways. The family informed Adam they did not want history to happen again with their infant.
The plan: To bring in 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 development at the outset here is kind of absorbed naturally," said Adam.
It's through this natural absorption that the family are expecting the child will acquire the British traits they wish to cultivate.
He explained the tutor needed to be an individual who went to "prestigious academies – the same kinds of schools as the family hope to send their son to".
"The tutor simply needs to be the suitable individual, they'll be performing things they aren't even aware they're doing, effortlessly," he said.
Expense Not a Factor
The family informed the expert the selected educator should ideally also have familiarity of or passion in riding, alpine skiing, creative fields and musical activities so as to influence the child in a wide range of passions.
More than that though, he stated the family desired the tutor to register the child on a selection of courses so the child would be "horseback riding and learning an musical instrument by the time they are about three years old".
In the family's minds, assisting their son become a "UK sophisticate" will bring about accomplishment and provide access.
"Taking into account the pros and cons of that, because it's certainly a social class indicator," he comments.
However, notwithstanding all this guidance in "Britishness", would the child absorb so-called cultural leaning from the international family he lives with in any case?
"Absolutely", answered the CEO. "They know this may not work, but they've just taken the attitude of, 'we should try and we should start as soon as we can', because the expense of it is not a concern," he stated.
Overly Optimistic
A number of in the tutoring industry who share similar concerns.
Peter Cui, head and founder of Blue Education, who provides private tutors, stated that "the journey of becoming bicultural, or in fact, becoming oneself, is something that must be experienced personally, not designed."
Peter noted that he had relocated from Asia to the Britain at the age of seven, and had been educated understanding and embodying both cultures. He continued to study at a prestigious UK institution.
"The idea that an individual can function as a embodiment of English culture, someone who can somehow transfer the characteristics of a British gentleman upon a infant child, appears optimistic and impractical," he wrote.
"In my experience, having a distinctly British tutor from early childhood will does not necessarily achieve the outcome they want.
"I did not have that kind of mentor, and however I have been lucky enough to experience many of the opportunities they desire for their son."
He stated: "The fact is, cultural identity cannot be imposed from the outside influences; it must be chosen, and it must be internally driven."
Acquiring Englishness
Of course, UK identity is something Adam hopes can be instructed – and sold.
"I think the reality that the global community views us in this light is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
