"A family residing in north London is looking for an exceptional and qualified educator to assist their most junior child on his early path to growing into an British gentleman."
Looking at this post, you might easily miss the phrase "initial stages" as mere a turn of phrase.
Yet, it might be the most significant aspect of this distinctive position posting, as it attempts to hire a tutor for a infant.
Hundreds of responses have now been sent in since the unidentified family posted their search for the highly paid tutor, who must be "an exceptional individual".
Over the last few weeks, the listing has received attention across the press, with several questioning why?
Innovative Idea
Adam Caller, chief executive of a global tutoring firm, which is supporting the family in their search, said that in spite of initial skepticism, he found the idea "visionary", and "innovative".
When he spoke with the family, he noted they understood the unconventional aspect of their demand, and how early in age their son is.
But, they explained that they "were unwilling to delay any longer" to engage a tutor, as they had held off until their older child was five, and by that stage "cultural bias had by then taken hold".
What precisely does the family mean by "cultural leaning"?
It's "all-encompassing", he replied. "How you eat, the manner you speak".
He explained the firstborn had picked up "very nuanced, non-verbal cues" from the family, and had taken on their cultural ways. The family informed Adam they did not want the same situation to repeat itself with their younger child.
The intention: To engage a UK tutor, who should speak with Received Pronunciation, to influence the baby from day one.
Osmotic Learning
"A lot of the education at the start here is somewhat absorbed naturally," explained the CEO.
It's by means of this osmosis that the family are expecting the child will acquire the British traits they aim to impart.
He said the tutor must be somebody who went to "the appropriate educational institutions – similar types of schools as the family plan to send their son to".
"The instructor simply needs to be the right kind of person, they'll be carrying out things they don't even know they're doing, just naturally," he added.
Expense Not a Factor
The family explained to the expert the chosen tutor should ideally also have understanding of or passion in equestrian activities, winter sports, creative fields and music so as to inspire the child in a wide range of interests.
More than that though, he said the family hoped the tutor to register the child on a variety of classes so the child would be "equestrian training and learning an instrument by the time they are around three years old".
In the family's view, assisting their son grow into a "UK sophisticate" will bring about success and open doors.
"For all the rights and wrongs of that, because it's undoubtedly a status symbol," he comments.
But, in spite of all this instruction in "English culture", could the child pick up so-called cultural leaning from the international family he lives with regardless?
"Certainly", replied he. "The family know this could fail, but they've just taken the attitude of, 'we should try and we'll proceed as early as we can', because the price of it is not a concern," he explained.
Impractical
A number of in the education sector who have these concerns.
Another CEO, head and founder of Blue Education, who also offer individual instructors, stated that "the journey of embracing two identities, or in fact, discovering oneself, is something that must be lived into, not engineered."
The expert explained that he had emigrated from the Far East to the UK at the time of 7 years old, and had been brought up experiencing and practicing both cultures. He went on to study at the University of Cambridge.
"The concept that one individual can function as a representation of UK identity, an individual who can possibly transplant the characteristics of a UK sophisticate upon a 12-month-old child, appears optimistic and unrealistic," he stated.
"From my perspective, having a quintessentially English tutor from babyhood will does not automatically create the outcome they want.
"I never had such a figure, and however I have been fortunate enough to live numerous of the opportunities they desire for their son."
He added: "The truth is, cultural identity can not be dictated from the outside; it must be chosen, and it must come from within."
Purchasing UK Culture
Certainly, Britishness is something the expert believes can be taught – and marketed.
"In my view the reality that the world holds us in this regard is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
