"Parents based in the northern part of London is looking for an extraordinary and qualified educator to support their smallest child on his initial journey to becoming an British gentleman."
Upon seeing this post, you might readily skip the wording "initial stages" as mere an expression.
But, it might be the most important element of this unusual position posting, as it aims to recruit a tutor for a 12-month-old.
Hundreds of submissions have now been sent in since the unidentified family posted their request for the £180k-a-year tutor, who must be "an exceptional individual".
Over the last few weeks, the advert has received interest across the media, with many asking why?
Forward-Thinking Method
Adam Caller, chief executive of a global tutoring firm, which is assisting the family in their hunt, explained that despite initial doubt, he considered the idea "far sighted", and "advanced".
When he consulted the family, he noted they understood the unusual aspect of their request, and how young their son is.
But, they explained that they "were unwilling to delay any longer" to get a tutor, as they had postponed until their elder sibling was five, and by that point "cultural influence had already taken hold".
What precisely does the family mean by "cultural leaning"?
It's "comprehensive", he responded. "The way you eat, the way you speak".
He said the firstborn had absorbed "extremely delicate, unspoken signals" from the family, and had assumed their cultural ways. The family explained to Adam they wished to avoid the same situation to happen again with their infant.
The intention: To engage a UK tutor, who must speak with standard English accent, to influence the baby from day one.
Osmotic Learning
"A great deal of the learning at the start here is rather osmotic," stated the CEO.
It's through this osmosis that the family are hoping the child will pick up the English characteristics they wish to instil.
Adam said the tutor must be somebody who studied at "the appropriate educational institutions – the same kinds of schools as the family aspire to send their son to".
"The educator must be the appropriate candidate, they'll be doing things they aren't even aware they're doing, simply by nature," he added.
Expense Not a Factor
The family informed him the chosen tutor should preferably also have familiarity of or interest in horse riding, alpine skiing, creative fields and music so as to shape the child in a broad spectrum of interests.
More than that though, he explained the family wanted the tutor to register the child on a selection of classes so the child would be "pony-riding and learning an tool by the time they are about three years old".
In the family's minds, assisting their son develop into a "British gentleman" will lead to achievement and provide access.
"Considering the advantages and disadvantages of that, because it's certainly a class statement," he comments.
Yet, in spite of all this tutelage in "Britishness", could the child pick up what is termed cultural leaning from the multicultural family he is raised by regardless?
"Certainly", answered the CEO. "They understand this may not work, but they've just taken the attitude of, 'let's give it a go and we should start as early as we can', because the price of it is not relevant," he stated.
Overly Optimistic
There are some in the education sector who have these reservations.
An education leader, chief executive of a tutoring service, who supplies private tutors, wrote that "the process of adopting dual cultures, or in fact, becoming oneself, is something that must be lived into, not engineered."
Peter noted that he had relocated from Asia to the United Kingdom at the time of 7 years old, and had been brought up knowing and living two backgrounds. He continued to be educated at the University of Cambridge.
"The idea that a single person can act as a living vessel of English culture, a person who can possibly impart the attributes of a English gentleman upon a one-year-old child, appears optimistic and unrealistic," he wrote.
"In my experience, employing a typically UK tutor from early childhood will not necessarily achieve the outcome they desire.
"I never had such a tutor, and nevertheless I have been fortunate enough to enjoy numerous of the situations they hope for their son."
He stated: "The reality is, self-identity cannot be forced from the outside; it must be embraced, and it must be internally driven."
Buying Britishness
Of course, English culture is something the CEO believes can be taught – and commercialized.
"I think the reality that the global community views us in this regard is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
