"A household residing in north London is looking for an extraordinary and experienced educator to assist their youngest child on his early path to growing into an English gentleman."
Looking at this listing, you might readily skip the wording "initial stages" as just figurative language.
Yet, it could be the most important aspect of this unique job advert, as it seeks to recruit a tutor for a one-year-old.
Hundreds of responses have now been submitted since the unnamed family advertised their request for the £180k-a-year tutor, who must be "someone very special".
In recent few weeks, the listing has gained interest across the press, with several asking why?
Innovative Idea
Adam Caller, head and founder of an education consultancy, which is assisting the family in their search, explained that in spite of early scepticism, he viewed the idea "far sighted", and "progressive".
When he consulted the family, he noted they recognized the atypical aspect of their demand, and how young their son is.
Nevertheless, they clarified that they "didn't want to wait any longer" to hire a tutor, as they had postponed until their older child was five, and by that stage "cultural conditioning had already set in".
What exactly did the family mean by "cultural predisposition"?
It's "comprehensive", Adam responded. "The way you eat, how you speak".
He stated the older sibling had absorbed "extremely delicate, body language" from the family, and had taken on their cultural habits. The family informed Adam they hoped to prevent this pattern to recur with their new baby.
The strategy: To engage a English tutor, who needs to speak with Received Pronunciation, to influence the baby from day one.
Subtle Influence
"Much of the development at the outset here is somewhat acquired indirectly," explained the CEO.
It's by means of this subtle influence that the family are expecting the child will pick up the British traits they aim to cultivate.
Adam said the tutor must be an individual who went to "the right kinds of schools – the same kinds of schools as the family plan to send their son to".
"The tutor simply needs to be the right kind of person, they'll be doing things they aren't even aware they're doing, just naturally," he added.
Expense Not a Factor
The family explained to him the successful candidate should ideally also have familiarity of or passion in riding, winter sports, creative fields and instrumental training so as to shape the child in a wide range of passions.
More than that though, he said the family desired the tutor to register the child on a variety of classes so the child would be "pony-riding and starting an musical instrument by the time they are approximately three years old".
In the family's minds, assisting their son become a "British gentleman" will lead to achievement and provide access.
"Considering the rights and wrongs of that, because it's definitely a social class indicator," he notes.
However, notwithstanding all this tutelage in "English culture", might the child absorb what is termed cultural influence from the multicultural family he is raised by anyway?
"Yes", replied he. "The family know this may not work, but they've simply adopted the view of, 'let's give it a go and let's go as quickly as we can', because the price of it is irrelevant," he said.
Idealistic and Unrealistic
There are some in the private teaching field who share these concerns.
Peter Cui, chief executive of an educational organization, who supplies individual instructors, wrote that "the journey of embracing two identities, or in fact, discovering oneself, is something that must be experienced personally, not manufactured."
He noted that he had emigrated from China to the United Kingdom at the period of childhood, and had been raised experiencing and living dual heritages. He went on to study at a prestigious UK institution.
"The concept that an individual can act as a living vessel of Britishness, a person who can possibly transplant the characteristics of a English gentleman upon a one-year-old child, strikes me as optimistic and unfeasible," he wrote.
"Based on my background, having a quintessentially English tutor from babyhood will will not necessarily achieve the outcome they desire.
"I did not have that kind of mentor, and nevertheless I have been lucky enough to enjoy several of the opportunities they desire for their son."
He added: "The truth is, cultural identity should not be forced from the outside; it must be embraced, and it must come from within."
Purchasing UK Culture
Certainly, Britishness is something Adam thinks can be instructed – and commercialized.
"In my view the fact that the global community holds us in this light is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
