"Parents located in the northern part of London wants to find an exceptional and qualified instructor to support their youngest child on his first steps to becoming an English gentleman."
Looking at this listing, you might readily miss the phrase "initial stages" as simple figurative language.
But, it could be the most important aspect of this unusual employment listing, as it aims to recruit a mentor for a 12-month-old.
Hundreds of applications have already been sent in since the anonymous family advertised their call for the £180,000 per year tutor, who needs to be "someone very special".
In recent few weeks, the post has attracted notice throughout the media, with many wondering why?
Progressive Approach
Adam Caller, chief executive of a global tutoring firm, which is supporting the family in their search, explained that notwithstanding initial scepticism, he considered the plan "visionary", and "progressive".
When he met the family, he mentioned they recognized the atypical nature of their requirement, and how early in age their son is.
But, they explained that they "preferred not to postpone any longer" to engage a tutor, as they had postponed until their elder sibling was five, and by that stage "cultural bias had already taken hold".
What exactly did the family mean by "cultural leaning"?
It's "comprehensive", the expert replied. "The way you eat, the way you speak".
He stated the firstborn had absorbed "very nuanced, body language" from the family, and had adopted their cultural ways. The family explained to the consultant they did not want the same situation to happen again with their new baby.
The plan: To hire a UK tutor, who needs to speak with standard English accent, to guide the baby from day one.
Subtle Influence
"Much of the education at the outset here is rather acquired indirectly," explained the expert.
It's by means of this natural absorption that the family are expecting the child will adopt the English characteristics they aim to impart.
The consultant noted the tutor must be somebody who went to "the appropriate educational institutions – the same kinds of schools as the family aspire to send their son to".
"The instructor must be the suitable individual, they'll be carrying out things they may not realize they're doing, just naturally," he added.
Cost Not Relevant
The family told Adam the selected educator should preferably also have knowledge of or enthusiasm in riding, winter sports, artistic pursuits and music so as to influence the child in a diverse set of interests.
More than that though, he explained the family hoped the tutor to sign up the child on a selection of courses so the child would be "horseback riding and picking up an instrument by the time they are around three years old".
In the family's perspective, helping their son become a "UK sophisticate" will lead to success and provide access.
"Considering the rights and wrongs of that, because it's undoubtedly a social class indicator," he comments.
But, notwithstanding all this instruction in "UK identity", might the child pick up what is termed cultural leaning from the globally influenced family he lives with anyway?
"Certainly", said Adam. "The parents know this may not work, but they've merely embraced the perspective of, 'why not attempt it and let's go as quickly as we can', because the price of it is not a concern," he explained.
Overly Optimistic
Several in the private teaching field who share these reservations.
An education leader, head and founder of Blue Education, who supplies private tutors, commented that "the journey of adopting dual cultures, or indeed, forming one's identity, is something that must be lived into, not designed."
Peter noted that he had relocated from Asia to the United Kingdom at the period of seven, and had been educated knowing and embodying both cultures. He continued to learn at the University of Cambridge.
"The notion that an individual can function as a embodiment of Britishness, an individual who can in some way transfer the characteristics of a English gentleman to a 12-month-old child, strikes me as idealistic and unrealistic," he stated.
"Based on my background, engaging a typically UK tutor from early childhood will not instantly produce the result they desire.
"I did not have such a figure, and yet I have been fortunate enough to live many of the experiences they aspire for their son."
He continued: "The truth is, self-identity can not be forced from the external environment; it must be selected, and it must originate internally."
Acquiring Englishness
Certainly, Britishness is something the expert hopes can be instructed – and sold.
"I believe the reality that the global community holds us in this regard is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
