"A household located in North London seeks an remarkable and skilled instructor to guide their smallest child on his initial journey to turning into an English gentleman."
When reading this listing, you might naturally overlook the term "initial stages" as mere a turn of phrase.
But, it could be the most significant part of this unusual position posting, as it attempts to find a teacher for a one-year-old.
Many of submissions have already been submitted since the unnamed family published their search for the highly paid tutor, who must be "an exceptional individual".
During the past few weeks, the listing has gained notice in the media, with several asking why?
Progressive Approach
Adam Caller, chief executive of Tutors International, which is helping the family in their hunt, stated that despite initial scepticism, he considered the plan "visionary", and "advanced".
When he consulted the family, he mentioned they appreciated the atypical character of their demand, and how young their son is.
Nevertheless, they clarified that they "preferred not to postpone any longer" to get a tutor, as they had waited until their elder sibling was five, and by that point "cultural influence had by then set in".
What exactly did the family mean by "cultural predisposition"?
It's "all-encompassing", he answered. "How you eat, how you speak".
He stated the firstborn had absorbed "really subtle, unspoken signals" from the family, and had taken on their cultural ways. The family informed the consultant they hoped to prevent the same situation to recur with their new baby.
The plan: To bring in a UK tutor, who needs to speak with standard English accent, to influence the baby right from the beginning.
Osmotic Learning
"A lot of the learning at the beginning here is somewhat acquired indirectly," said the expert.
It's via this osmosis that the family are expecting the child will pick up the British traits they wish to impart.
Adam noted the tutor needed to be somebody who went to "prestigious academies – the same kinds of schools as the family aspire to send their son to".
"The tutor must be the appropriate candidate, they'll be performing things they may not realize they're doing, just naturally," he added.
Expense Not a Factor
The family told Adam the chosen tutor should ideally also have knowledge of or passion in horse riding, winter sports, artistic pursuits and instrumental training so as to shape the child in a wide range of hobbies.
More than that though, he stated the family desired the tutor to sign up the child on a selection of classes so the child would be "horseback riding and starting an musical instrument by the time they are around three years old".
In the family's perspective, helping their son grow into a "British gentleman" will bring about success and open doors.
"For all the pros and cons of that, because it's certainly a status symbol," he adds.
But, despite all this guidance in "English culture", might the child pick up what is termed cultural bias from the multicultural family he resides with in any case?
"Absolutely", answered the CEO. "They understand this might not succeed, but they've simply adopted the view of, 'why not attempt it and let's go as early as we can', because the price of it is not a concern," he stated.
Overly Optimistic
There are some in the tutoring industry who share those doubts.
Another CEO, head and founder of Blue Education, who supplies personal educators, stated that "the process of becoming bicultural, or indeed, forming one's identity, is something that must be experienced personally, not manufactured."
The expert noted that he had emigrated from China to the United Kingdom at the period of childhood, and had been brought up understanding and living both cultures. He went on to be educated at Cambridge University.
"The concept that a single person can function as a embodiment of Britishness, someone who can somehow impart the characteristics of a English gentleman onto a infant child, strikes me as naive and impractical," he wrote.
"Based on my background, employing a quintessentially British tutor from babyhood will will not necessarily achieve the result they want.
"I wasn't provided with that kind of mentor, and yet I have been lucky enough to experience numerous of the opportunities they hope for their son."
He added: "The truth is, cultural identity can not be imposed from the external environment; it must be chosen, and it must come from within."
Acquiring Englishness
Naturally, Britishness is something the expert thinks can be educated – and sold.
"I believe the fact that the world regards us in this light is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
