"Parents residing in the northern part of London wants to find an extraordinary and qualified educator to support their youngest child on his initial journey to turning into an English gentleman."
Looking at this listing, you might readily miss the term "initial stages" as just a turn of phrase.
Yet, it may be the most important aspect of this distinctive position posting, as it attempts to hire a mentor for a one-year-old.
Hundreds of submissions have already been sent in since the anonymous family advertised their search for the £180,000 per year tutor, who must be "a uniquely qualified person".
Over the last few weeks, the advert has attracted interest across the press, with several wondering why?
Forward-Thinking Method
Adam Caller, head and founder of an education consultancy, which is helping the family in their hunt, stated that in spite of initial scepticism, he viewed the plan "visionary", and "advanced".
When he met the family, he noted they appreciated the unconventional character of their demand, and how young their son is.
Nevertheless, they stated that they "preferred not to postpone any longer" to get a tutor, as they had held off until their elder sibling was five, and by that age "cultural bias had by then become established".
What exactly did the family indicate by "cultural leaning"?
It's "comprehensive", the expert responded. "How you eat, the way you speak".
He stated the firstborn had absorbed "extremely delicate, body language" from the family, and had assumed their cultural norms. The family informed Adam they wished to avoid this pattern to recur with their new baby.
The plan: To engage a British tutor, who needs to speak with Received Pronunciation, to guide the baby right from the beginning.
Natural Absorption
"A great deal of the development at the beginning here is kind of absorbed naturally," said Adam.
It's via this subtle influence that the family are hoping the child will pick up the British traits they aim to impart.
The consultant explained the tutor had to be someone who went to "the appropriate educational institutions – similar types of schools as the family aspire to send their son to".
"The instructor just has to be the appropriate candidate, they'll be performing things they may not realize they're doing, effortlessly," he said.
Cost Not Relevant
The family informed Adam the successful candidate should preferably also have familiarity of or passion in riding, winter sports, the arts and music so as to inspire the child in a diverse set of passions.
More than that though, he explained the family wanted the tutor to enrol the child on a range of lessons so the child would be "equestrian training and starting an instrument by the time they are about three years old".
In the family's perspective, helping their son develop into a "UK sophisticate" will lead to accomplishment and create opportunities.
"Taking into account the pros and cons of that, because it's certainly a class statement," he notes.
However, despite all this instruction in "Britishness", would the child pick up what is termed cultural leaning from the globally influenced family he resides with in any case?
"Certainly", replied he. "The parents know this could fail, but they've merely embraced the perspective of, 'we should try and we should start as early as we can', because the cost of it is irrelevant," he said.
Impractical
There are some in the education sector who share these doubts.
Peter Cui, chief executive of a tutoring service, who supplies personal educators, commented that "the journey of embracing two identities, or actually, discovering oneself, is something that must be lived into, not designed."
He wrote that he had relocated from Asia to the United Kingdom at the age of childhood, and had been raised knowing and living both cultures. He continued to learn at Cambridge University.
"The idea that one individual can function as a representation of English culture, an individual who can possibly impart the characteristics of a English gentleman to a 12-month-old child, seems to me optimistic and impractical," he stated.
"In my experience, employing a quintessentially English tutor from babyhood will not instantly produce the outcome they want.
"I never had that kind of mentor, and nevertheless I have been privileged enough to live numerous of the situations they desire for their son."
He continued: "The fact is, personal identity can not be imposed from the external environment; it must be selected, and it must originate internally."
Purchasing UK Culture
Certainly, English culture is something the CEO thinks can be educated – and sold.
"I think the situation that the international society views us in this regard is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
