"Parents residing in North London is looking for an exceptional and skilled tutor to support their smallest child on his initial journey to turning into an British gentleman."
Upon seeing this listing, you might naturally miss the phrase "beginning" as just figurative language.
Yet, it might be the most important element of this unique position posting, as it aims to hire a mentor for a 12-month-old.
Hundreds of submissions have now been received since the anonymous family published their search for the £180,000 per year tutor, who has to be "someone very special".
Over the last few weeks, the listing has gained interest throughout the press, with numerous questioning why?
Progressive Approach
Adam Caller, CEO and founder of a global tutoring firm, which is helping the family in their quest, said that in spite of initial skepticism, he viewed the idea "forward-looking", and "innovative".
When he consulted the family, he mentioned they understood the unusual character of their request, and how young their son is.
Nevertheless, they stated that they "preferred not to postpone any longer" to hire a tutor, as they had waited until their older child was five, and by that stage "cultural influence had already set in".
What precisely did the family mean by "cultural bias"?
It's "all-encompassing", Adam answered. "The way you eat, the way you speak".
He explained the older sibling had picked up "really subtle, body language" from the family, and had taken on their cultural ways. The family told him they hoped to prevent history to repeat itself with their younger child.
The strategy: To engage a UK tutor, who should speak with standard English accent, to guide the baby from day one.
Osmotic Learning
"A lot of the development at the start here is kind of absorbed naturally," stated the expert.
It's via this osmosis that the family are hoping the child will pick up the English characteristics they wish to instil.
Adam noted the tutor needed to be an individual who attended "the appropriate educational institutions – similar types of schools as the family hope to send their son to".
"The tutor must be the suitable individual, they'll be performing things they may not realize they're doing, just naturally," he said.
Money No Object
The family told Adam the chosen tutor should ideally also have knowledge of or passion in riding, alpine skiing, creative fields and music so as to influence the child in a wide range of passions.
Furthermore though, he explained the family wanted the tutor to sign up the child on a selection of classes so the child would be "pony-riding and learning an instrument by the time they are approximately three years old".
In the family's minds, helping their son grow into a "British gentleman" will result in accomplishment and create opportunities.
"Considering the advantages and disadvantages of that, because it's undoubtedly a class statement," he adds.
Yet, despite all this tutelage in "Britishness", could the child adopt alleged cultural leaning from the globally influenced family he resides with anyway?
"Certainly", said the CEO. "The parents realize this may not work, but they've simply adopted the view of, 'why not attempt it and let's go as soon as we can', because the cost of it is not relevant," he explained.
Idealistic and Unrealistic
There are some in the tutoring industry who express similar doubts.
An education leader, head and founder of an educational organization, who also offer private tutors, wrote that "the process of embracing two identities, or actually, discovering oneself, is something that must be experienced personally, not engineered."
He noted that he had relocated from China to the UK at the time of 7 years old, and had been educated understanding and embodying both cultures. He continued to be educated at the University of Cambridge.
"The notion that one individual can serve as a representation of Britishness, an individual who can possibly impart the characteristics of a UK sophisticate onto a one-year-old child, strikes me as naive and unrealistic," he wrote.
"From my perspective, having a quintessentially UK tutor from early childhood will not automatically create the goal they desire.
"I never had such a tutor, and yet I have been lucky enough to enjoy many of the situations they aspire for their son."
He stated: "The truth is, cultural identity can not be dictated from the outside influences; it must be embraced, and it must come from within."
Buying Britishness
Certainly, UK identity is something the expert believes can be instructed – and commercialized.
"In my view the fact that the global community views us in this regard is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
