"A household located in the northern part of London wants to find an remarkable and skilled tutor to guide their youngest child on his early path to growing into an English gentleman."
When reading this post, you might readily miss the wording "initial stages" as just a turn of phrase.
But, it might be the most significant part of this unique position posting, as it attempts to hire a teacher for a infant.
Hundreds of applications have already been submitted since the anonymous family advertised their call for the £180k-a-year tutor, who must be "someone very special".
In recent few weeks, the listing has attracted interest across the media, with numerous questioning why?
Forward-Thinking Method
Adam Caller, chief executive of a global tutoring firm, which is supporting the family in their quest, stated that despite early scepticism, he viewed the idea "far sighted", and "progressive".
When he consulted the family, he mentioned they appreciated the atypical nature of their demand, and how young their son is.
However, they stated 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 point "cultural influence had already become established".
What exactly does the family indicate by "cultural bias"?
It's "everything", Adam responded. "How you eat, how you speak".
He stated the firstborn had adopted "extremely delicate, non-verbal cues" from the family, and had assumed their cultural norms. The family informed him they hoped to prevent the same situation to recur with their new baby.
The strategy: To bring in a English tutor, who should speak with Received Pronunciation, to guide the baby from day one.
Natural Absorption
"A lot of the learning at the start here is kind of absorbed naturally," explained the CEO.
It's via this osmosis that the family are hoping the child will adopt the UK customs they aim to impart.
He explained the tutor had to be somebody who attended "the right kinds of schools – similar types of schools as the family aspire to send their son to".
"The tutor simply needs to be the suitable individual, they'll be performing things they aren't even aware they're doing, simply by nature," he commented.
Money No Object
The family told the expert the selected educator should ideally also have understanding of or passion in equestrian activities, winter sports, artistic pursuits and musical activities so as to influence the child in a wide range of passions.
Additionally though, he stated the family wanted the tutor to register the child on a variety of lessons so the child would be "pony-riding and learning an tool by the time they are about three years old".
In the family's perspective, assisting their son become a "British gentleman" will bring about achievement and open doors.
"Considering the advantages and disadvantages of that, because it's definitely a social class indicator," he notes.
However, despite all this tutelage in "Britishness", might the child absorb alleged cultural influence from the multicultural family he lives with anyway?
"Certainly", replied he. "The family realize this may not work, but they've simply adopted the perspective of, 'we should try and we'll proceed as quickly as we can', because the cost of it is irrelevant," he stated.
Overly Optimistic
There are some in the education sector who have those doubts.
An education leader, head and founder of Blue Education, who also offer private tutors, stated that "the process of embracing two identities, or in fact, forming one's identity, is something that must be lived into, not designed."
Peter noted that he had relocated from China to the Britain at the age of 7 years old, and had been raised experiencing and living dual heritages. He went on to learn at Cambridge University.
"The notion that one individual can act as a embodiment of Britishness, a person who can possibly impart the attributes of a British gentleman onto a one-year-old child, seems to me idealistic and unrealistic," he commented.
"In my experience, having a typically English tutor from early childhood will will not instantly produce the goal they desire.
"I wasn't provided with such a figure, and nevertheless I have been fortunate enough to experience numerous of the situations they hope for their son."
He continued: "The reality is, cultural identity should not be imposed from the outside influences; it must be chosen, and it must be internally driven."
Buying Britishness
Certainly, UK identity is something the CEO believes can be taught – and marketed.
"I think the situation that the global community regards us in this regard is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
