"A household located in the northern part of London wants to find an remarkable and experienced educator to guide their smallest child on his early path to growing into an English gentleman."
Upon seeing this listing, you might naturally miss the phrase "initial stages" as simple an expression.
But, it could be the crucial part of this unusual employment listing, as it aims to find a mentor for a one-year-old.
Hundreds of applications have now been sent in since the unnamed family advertised their request for the highly paid tutor, who needs to be "someone very special".
During the past few weeks, the advert has attracted attention in the media, with numerous asking why?
Progressive Approach
Adam Caller, chief executive of a global tutoring firm, which is assisting the family in their quest, stated that despite initial skepticism, he found the concept "far sighted", and "innovative".
When he spoke with the family, he noted they understood the atypical aspect of their request, and how young their son is.
But, they clarified that they "didn't want to wait any longer" to hire a tutor, as they had waited until their older child was five, and by that age "cultural bias had already taken hold".
What exactly does the family mean by "cultural bias"?
It's "everything", he responded. "The manner you eat, the way you speak".
He stated the elder child had adopted "extremely delicate, non-verbal cues" from the family, and had assumed their cultural ways. The family explained to Adam they did not want the same situation to repeat itself with their infant.
The intention: To hire a English tutor, who should speak with RP, to shape the baby from the very start.
Osmotic Learning
"Much of the learning at the start here is kind of osmotic," explained Adam.
It's via this subtle influence that the family are expecting the child will acquire the English characteristics they wish to instil.
The consultant explained the tutor must be an individual who studied at "the right kinds of schools – similar types of schools as the family plan to send their son to".
"The educator 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.
Money No Object
The family told the expert the selected educator should ideally also have understanding of or enthusiasm in riding, winter sports, creative fields and musical activities so as to inspire the child in a diverse set of passions.
More than that though, he stated the family hoped the tutor to sign up the child on a range of classes so the child would be "equestrian training and picking up an tool by the time they are about three years old".
In the family's perspective, assisting their son become a "British gentleman" will lead to accomplishment and create opportunities.
"Taking into account the rights and wrongs of that, because it's definitely a status symbol," he comments.
However, despite all this tutelage in "English culture", might the child pick up so-called cultural bias from the international family he is raised by anyway?
"Yes", replied the CEO. "They know this might not succeed, but they've simply adopted the attitude of, 'let's give it a go and we should start as quickly as we can', because the price of it is not relevant," he explained.
Overly Optimistic
A number of in the education sector who have these concerns.
An education leader, chief executive of Blue Education, who also offer private tutors, wrote that "the development of embracing two identities, or in fact, becoming oneself, is something that must be experienced personally, not manufactured."
The expert noted that he had relocated from the Far East to the Britain at the time of childhood, and had been raised understanding and practicing dual heritages. He went on to study at a prestigious UK institution.
"The idea that one individual can function as a embodiment of Britishness, someone who can somehow transplant the attributes of a English gentleman upon a 12-month-old child, strikes me as optimistic and unrealistic," he commented.
"From my perspective, having a quintessentially English tutor from early childhood will does not necessarily achieve the outcome they want.
"I wasn't provided with such a tutor, and however I have been privileged enough to live many of the opportunities they aspire for their son."
He continued: "The reality is, personal identity should not be forced from the outside influences; it must be embraced, and it must originate internally."
Purchasing UK Culture
Of course, Britishness is something the expert hopes can be taught – and marketed.
"I believe the reality that the global community regards us in this regard is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
