"A household located in the northern part of London wants to find an extraordinary and skilled educator to assist their youngest child on his first steps to turning into an English gentleman."
When reading this advertisement, you might readily miss the wording "initial stages" as mere a turn of phrase.
Yet, it might be the most significant part of this unique job advert, as it seeks to recruit a mentor for a 12-month-old.
Many of submissions have now been sent in since the unidentified family published their search for the £180,000 per year tutor, who must be "an exceptional individual".
During the past few weeks, the listing has gained attention across the media, with many questioning why?
Progressive Approach
Adam Caller, head and founder of an education consultancy, which is assisting the family in their hunt, explained that notwithstanding initial scepticism, he viewed the concept "visionary", and "progressive".
When he consulted the family, he noted they appreciated the atypical character of their request, and how young their son is.
But, they clarified that they "preferred not to postpone any longer" to hire a tutor, as they had postponed until their elder sibling was five, and by that point "cultural bias had already taken hold".
What exactly did the family refer to by "cultural predisposition"?
It's "comprehensive", Adam replied. "How you eat, the way you speak".
He said the firstborn had picked up "extremely delicate, body language" from the family, and had taken on their cultural habits. The family told Adam they wished to avoid the same situation to repeat itself with their younger child.
The intention: To hire a UK tutor, who needs to speak with standard English accent, to shape the baby from the very start.
Osmotic Learning
"A lot of the development at the start here is somewhat acquired indirectly," said the expert.
It's by means of this osmosis that the family are aiming the child will acquire the UK customs they want to cultivate.
Adam said the tutor needed to be somebody who studied at "the right kinds of schools – similar types of schools as the family aspire to send their son to".
"The instructor must be the suitable individual, they'll be carrying out things they may not realize they're doing, simply by nature," he said.
Cost Not Relevant
The family explained to him the selected educator should ideally also have understanding of or passion in horse riding, alpine skiing, artistic pursuits and musical activities so as to shape the child in a diverse set of hobbies.
More than that though, he said the family hoped the tutor to enrol the child on a range of lessons so the child would be "pony-riding and picking up an tool by the time they are approximately three years old".
In the family's view, helping their son grow into a "British gentleman" will result in achievement and create opportunities.
"Taking into account the rights and wrongs of that, because it's definitely a social class indicator," he adds.
However, despite all this tutelage in "Britishness", might the child adopt alleged cultural bias from the globally influenced family he is raised by anyway?
"Certainly", answered he. "The parents know this might not succeed, but they've simply adopted the perspective of, 'why not attempt it and let's go as soon as we can', because the expense of it is irrelevant," he said.
Overly Optimistic
There are some in the private teaching field who express these concerns.
An education leader, CEO and founder of an educational organization, who also offer personal educators, wrote that "the journey of adopting dual cultures, or indeed, discovering oneself, is something that must be grown into, not manufactured."
He noted that he had moved from the Far East to the Britain at the time of childhood, and had been brought up knowing and practicing two backgrounds. He went on to study at a prestigious UK institution.
"The notion that an individual can act as a living vessel of Britishness, someone who can in some way impart the qualities of a UK sophisticate upon a 12-month-old child, appears naive and unrealistic," he commented.
"Based on my background, employing a distinctly British tutor from early childhood will will not instantly create the outcome they desire.
"I wasn't provided with such a tutor, and nevertheless I have been lucky enough to enjoy numerous of the situations they aspire for their son."
He continued: "The truth is, personal identity should not be forced from the outside influences; it must be chosen, and it must originate internally."
Acquiring Englishness
Certainly, English culture is something the CEO believes can be educated – and marketed.
"In my view the fact that the global community views us in this light is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
