"A family based in north London is looking for an extraordinary and skilled instructor to assist their smallest child on his initial journey to turning into an English gentleman."
Looking at this listing, you might readily miss the wording "initial stages" as simple an expression.
Yet, it may be the crucial part of this unusual employment listing, as it seeks to recruit a tutor for a 12-month-old.
Hundreds of responses have since been sent in since the unnamed family published their request for the £180k-a-year tutor, who has to be "an exceptional individual".
In recent few weeks, the advert has gained interest in the press, with numerous wondering why?
Forward-Thinking Method
Adam Caller, CEO and founder of an education consultancy, which is supporting the family in their quest, said that in spite of initial skepticism, he found the concept "far sighted", and "progressive".
When he met the family, he mentioned they appreciated the unconventional nature of their request, and how early in age their son is.
Nevertheless, they explained that they "didn't want to wait any longer" to hire a tutor, as they had postponed until their elder sibling was five, and by that age "cultural influence had by then become established".
What exactly did the family indicate by "cultural predisposition"?
It's "all-encompassing", the expert responded. "How you eat, the manner you speak".
He said the firstborn had picked up "very nuanced, non-verbal cues" from the family, and had taken on their cultural ways. The family informed the consultant they hoped to prevent history to repeat itself with their infant.
The intention: To engage a British tutor, who needs to speak with Received Pronunciation, to shape the baby from the very start.
Subtle Influence
"Much of the education at the start here is somewhat absorbed naturally," stated the CEO.
It's by means of this osmosis that the family are aiming the child will pick up the English characteristics they want to instil.
The consultant said the tutor needed to be someone who attended "prestigious academies – similar types of schools as the family hope to send their son to".
"The tutor simply needs to be the suitable individual, they'll be doing things they don't even know they're doing, effortlessly," he said.
Expense Not a Factor
The family told him the successful candidate should ideally also have familiarity of or interest in horse riding, alpine skiing, artistic pursuits and instrumental training so as to influence the child in a diverse set of passions.
Furthermore though, he explained the family desired the tutor to enrol the child on a selection of classes so the child would be "equestrian training and picking up an instrument by the time they are approximately three years old".
In the family's view, guiding their son develop into a "British gentleman" will bring about success and provide access.
"Taking into account the rights and wrongs of that, because it's definitely a class statement," he adds.
But, notwithstanding all this instruction in "English culture", would the child pick up alleged cultural leaning from the international family he resides with regardless?
"Certainly", replied the CEO. "The parents know this might not succeed, but they've just taken the perspective of, 'let's give it a go and we should start as quickly as we can', because the cost of it is not a concern," he stated.
Overly Optimistic
Several in the private teaching field who share these concerns.
Another CEO, CEO and founder of a tutoring service, who provides private tutors, commented that "the journey of embracing two identities, or indeed, discovering oneself, is something that must be grown into, not engineered."
The expert noted that he had emigrated from China to the Britain at the age of childhood, and had been raised understanding and embodying both cultures. He went on to be educated at a prestigious UK institution.
"The idea that one individual can function as a living vessel of UK identity, an individual who can possibly transplant the qualities of a British gentleman onto a 12-month-old child, seems to me idealistic and impractical," he stated.
"In my experience, employing a distinctly English tutor from infancy will does not automatically produce the outcome they desire.
"I did not have that kind of mentor, and nevertheless I have been fortunate enough to live several of the situations they aspire for their son."
He continued: "The fact is, self-identity should not be forced from the external environment; it must be chosen, and it must come from within."
Acquiring Englishness
Of course, Britishness is something the expert believes can be educated – and sold.
"In my view the reality that the international society views us in this light is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
