"A family located in North London is looking for an remarkable and qualified tutor to guide their smallest child on his early path to growing into an British gentleman."
Upon seeing this post, you might naturally miss the phrase "initial stages" as mere figurative language.
But, it might be the most important aspect of this distinctive job advert, as it seeks to hire a teacher for a one-year-old.
Hundreds of submissions have already been submitted since the unidentified family published their request for the £180k-a-year tutor, who must be "a uniquely qualified person".
During the past few weeks, the advert has attracted interest across the press, with several wondering why?
Forward-Thinking Method
Adam Caller, CEO and founder of an education consultancy, which is assisting the family in their search, stated that in spite of early doubt, he viewed the plan "far sighted", and "progressive".
When he met the family, he noted they recognized the unusual nature of their request, and how early in age their son is.
Nevertheless, they stated that they "were unwilling to delay any longer" to engage a tutor, as they had postponed until their older child was five, and by that age "cultural conditioning had by then set in".
What precisely does the family refer to by "cultural bias"?
It's "all-encompassing", Adam responded. "The way you eat, how you speak".
He said the firstborn had adopted "extremely delicate, non-verbal cues" from the family, and had taken on their cultural ways. The family explained to the consultant they hoped to prevent history to happen again with their younger child.
The intention: To bring in a British tutor, who needs to speak with standard English accent, to influence the baby right from the beginning.
Natural Absorption
"A great deal of the development at the outset here is somewhat acquired indirectly," said Adam.
It's through this subtle influence that the family are expecting the child will pick up the English characteristics they aim to instil.
The consultant noted the tutor needed to be someone who attended "prestigious academies – comparable categories of schools as the family plan to send their son to".
"The educator must be the suitable individual, they'll be carrying out things they don't even know they're doing, effortlessly," he said.
Money No Object
The family informed Adam the chosen tutor should ideally also have knowledge of or enthusiasm in horse riding, skiing, artistic pursuits and music so as to shape the child in a broad spectrum of passions.
Additionally though, he stated the family wanted the tutor to enrol the child on a range of lessons so the child would be "pony-riding and starting an instrument by the time they are approximately three years old".
In the family's perspective, assisting their son grow into a "English gentleman" will lead to success and open doors.
"Considering the rights and wrongs of that, because it's undoubtedly a status symbol," he adds.
But, notwithstanding all this tutelage in "Britishness", might the child adopt alleged cultural influence from the multicultural family he lives with in any case?
"Certainly", said Adam. "They realize this could fail, but they've just taken the attitude of, 'we should try and we'll proceed as early as we can', because the cost of it is not relevant," he said.
Idealistic and Unrealistic
A number of in the tutoring industry who share these doubts.
An education leader, head and founder of Blue Education, who provides private tutors, commented that "the process of adopting dual cultures, or in fact, forming one's identity, is something that must be experienced personally, not manufactured."
Peter wrote that he had relocated from the Far East to the Britain at the age of seven, and had been raised understanding and practicing both cultures. He went on to learn at Cambridge University.
"The concept that an individual can serve as a embodiment of Britishness, someone who can in some way transplant the characteristics of a British gentleman to a one-year-old child, appears naive and impractical," he commented.
"In my experience, engaging a distinctly UK tutor from infancy will does not necessarily achieve the outcome they hope for.
"I wasn't provided with that kind of mentor, and yet I have been privileged enough to enjoy numerous of the opportunities they aspire for their son."
He added: "The fact is, cultural identity should not be forced from the outside influences; it must be chosen, and it must come from within."
Acquiring Englishness
Certainly, Britishness is something Adam believes can be taught – and marketed.
"I believe the situation that the global community regards us in this regard is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
