"Parents residing in the northern part of London wants to find an remarkable and experienced educator to assist their most junior child on his early path to growing into an English gentleman."
Upon seeing this listing, you might readily overlook the phrase "initial stages" as just an expression.
Yet, it may be the most significant aspect of this distinctive job advert, as it aims to hire a tutor for a one-year-old.
Many of responses have since been sent in since the unidentified family posted their request for the £180,000 per year tutor, who needs to be "an exceptional individual".
Over the last few weeks, the post has attracted attention across the media, with numerous questioning why?
Progressive Approach
Adam Caller, chief executive of Tutors International, which is assisting the family in their hunt, explained that in spite of initial scepticism, he considered the plan "visionary", and "innovative".
When he consulted the family, he mentioned they appreciated the unusual character of their requirement, and how immature their son is.
But, they stated that they "were unwilling to delay any longer" to get a tutor, as they had postponed until their firstborn was five, and by that age "cultural influence had already set in".
What exactly did the family mean by "cultural predisposition"?
It's "everything", he answered. "The way you eat, how you speak".
He explained the firstborn had picked up "really subtle, unspoken signals" from the family, and had taken on their cultural ways. The family told the consultant they wished to avoid this pattern to repeat itself with their new baby.
The intention: To engage a UK tutor, who must speak with RP, to guide the baby from day one.
Natural Absorption
"Much of the development at the beginning here is somewhat osmotic," explained Adam.
It's via this natural absorption that the family are expecting the child will adopt the English characteristics they wish to impart.
He noted the tutor had to be someone who went to "the appropriate educational institutions – the same kinds of schools as the family plan to send their son to".
"The instructor must be the right kind of person, they'll be carrying out things they aren't even aware they're doing, just naturally," he added.
Expense Not a Factor
The family informed him the selected educator should preferably also have knowledge of or passion in riding, winter sports, the arts and musical activities so as to inspire the child in a broad spectrum of hobbies.
More than that though, he stated the family desired the tutor to sign up the child on a selection of courses so the child would be "pony-riding and picking up an musical instrument by the time they are around three years old".
In the family's view, guiding their son develop into a "UK sophisticate" will bring about achievement and provide access.
"Taking into account the rights and wrongs of that, because it's certainly a social class indicator," he adds.
But, notwithstanding all this instruction in "UK identity", would the child adopt what is termed cultural bias from the globally influenced family he lives with anyway?
"Certainly", said he. "The family know this could fail, but they've just taken the attitude of, 'we should try and let's go as quickly as we can', because the cost of it is not a concern," he stated.
Impractical
There are some in the tutoring industry who share similar concerns.
Another CEO, chief executive of a tutoring service, who provides individual instructors, wrote that "the journey of becoming bicultural, or in fact, forming one's identity, is something that must be lived into, not designed."
He explained that he had relocated from China to the United Kingdom at the age of 7 years old, and had been raised understanding and living both cultures. He went on to be educated at a prestigious UK institution.
"The concept that a single person can act as a living vessel of English culture, a person who can somehow impart the characteristics of a English gentleman to a infant child, seems to me idealistic and unrealistic," he commented.
"From my perspective, engaging a distinctly UK tutor from early childhood will will not automatically produce the result they desire.
"I wasn't provided with that kind of mentor, and yet I have been fortunate enough to experience many of the experiences they aspire for their son."
He added: "The fact is, cultural identity should not be forced from the outside; it must be embraced, and it must come from within."
Buying Britishness
Certainly, UK identity is something the CEO thinks can be educated – and commercialized.
"I think the reality that the world regards us in this regard is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
