"A household located in North London seeks an extraordinary and skilled tutor to support their most junior child on his early path to becoming an English gentleman."
Looking at this post, you might naturally miss the phrase "initial stages" as simple figurative language.
However, it might be the most important aspect of this distinctive employment listing, as it aims to recruit a teacher for a 12-month-old.
Hundreds of responses have since been received since the unnamed family published their call for the £180,000 per year tutor, who must be "an exceptional individual".
Over the last few weeks, the listing has attracted interest throughout the media, with many questioning why?
Forward-Thinking Method
Adam Caller, CEO and founder of Tutors International, which is supporting the family in their quest, stated that in spite of initial scepticism, he found the concept "forward-looking", and "progressive".
When he consulted the family, he said they recognized the unconventional character of their requirement, and how young their son is.
But, they explained that they "preferred not to postpone any longer" to hire a tutor, as they had postponed until their older child was five, and by that age "cultural bias had already become established".
What exactly does the family mean by "cultural leaning"?
It's "all-encompassing", Adam replied. "How you eat, how you speak".
He stated the older sibling had picked up "very nuanced, non-verbal cues" from the family, and had adopted their cultural norms. The family explained to him they wished to avoid the same situation to recur with their new baby.
The plan: To hire a UK tutor, who needs to speak with RP, to shape the baby from day one.
Osmotic Learning
"A great deal of the learning at the beginning here is rather osmotic," stated Adam.
It's through this subtle influence that the family are hoping the child will acquire the British traits they wish to instil.
The consultant said the tutor needed to be an individual who studied at "prestigious academies – the same kinds of schools as the family aspire to send their son to".
"The tutor just has to be the suitable individual, they'll be performing things they may not realize they're doing, simply by nature," he added.
Cost Not Relevant
The family informed the expert the chosen tutor should ideally also have familiarity of or passion in riding, alpine skiing, artistic pursuits and music so as to shape the child in a broad spectrum of interests.
Additionally though, he stated the family desired the tutor to register the child on a selection of courses so the child would be "pony-riding and picking up an instrument by the time they are approximately three years old".
In the family's view, guiding their son grow into a "British gentleman" will bring about success and create opportunities.
"For all the pros and cons of that, because it's definitely a social class indicator," he adds.
Yet, despite all this guidance in "UK identity", could the child pick up so-called cultural bias from the globally influenced family he is raised by anyway?
"Certainly", replied he. "They understand this may not work, but they've merely embraced the attitude of, 'let's give it a go and let's go as quickly as we can', because the price of it is not a concern," he stated.
Impractical
A number of in the tutoring industry who have similar concerns.
An education leader, head and founder of an educational organization, who provides individual instructors, stated that "the development of embracing two identities, or indeed, forming one's identity, is something that must be experienced personally, not engineered."
Peter explained that he had relocated from China to the United Kingdom at the time of 7 years old, and had been educated experiencing and embodying both cultures. He progressed to study at the University of Cambridge.
"The concept that an individual can act as a embodiment of English culture, a person who can possibly transplant the characteristics of a British gentleman to a 12-month-old child, appears naive and unrealistic," he stated.
"In my experience, employing a typically English tutor from babyhood will will not necessarily produce the result they hope for.
"I wasn't provided with such a figure, and yet I have been privileged enough to experience numerous of the experiences they aspire for their son."
He added: "The fact is, personal identity should not be imposed from the outside; it must be embraced, and it must originate internally."
Buying Britishness
Of course, English culture is something the CEO hopes can be taught – and marketed.
"I think the reality that the world holds us in this regard is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
