"Parents based in north London seeks an exceptional and qualified educator to assist their smallest child on his first steps to becoming an English gentleman."
Upon seeing this post, you might easily overlook the wording "initial stages" as simple a turn of phrase.
However, it could be the most important part of this unusual position posting, as it seeks to hire a teacher for a 12-month-old.
Hundreds of responses have already been received since the unidentified family advertised their search for the highly paid tutor, who must be "an exceptional individual".
Over the last few weeks, the listing has attracted attention in the news, with several questioning why?
Forward-Thinking Method
Adam Caller, head and founder of an education consultancy, which is assisting the family in their search, explained that in spite of first skepticism, he considered the idea "visionary", and "innovative".
When he met the family, he noted they appreciated the atypical character of their requirement, and how young their son is.
Nevertheless, they stated that they "were unwilling to delay any longer" to engage a tutor, as they had waited until their older child was five, and by that point "cultural bias had by then become established".
But what does the family mean by "cultural leaning"?
It's "everything", the expert answered. "The way you eat, the manner you speak".
He explained the firstborn had picked up "very nuanced, unspoken signals" from the family, and had adopted their cultural norms. The family explained to Adam they did not want history to recur with their infant.
The intention: To bring in a English tutor, who must speak with Received Pronunciation, to shape the baby from day one.
Natural Absorption
"Much of the learning at the outset here is rather osmotic," explained Adam.
It's through this osmosis that the family are expecting the child will pick up the UK customs they want to cultivate.
Adam explained the tutor had to be somebody who attended "the right kinds of schools – similar types 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, simply by nature," he commented.
Expense Not a Factor
The family explained to Adam the selected educator should ideally also have knowledge of or enthusiasm in equestrian activities, skiing, artistic pursuits and music so as to inspire the child in a diverse set of interests.
Furthermore though, he explained the family wanted the tutor to sign up the child on a selection of classes so the child would be "equestrian training and learning an tool by the time they are about three years old".
In the family's minds, helping their son become a "British gentleman" will result in achievement and open doors.
"For all the advantages and disadvantages of that, because it's definitely a class statement," he adds.
But, in spite of all this instruction in "UK identity", could the child adopt what is termed cultural bias from the multicultural family he lives with anyway?
"Yes", answered the CEO. "The family know this may not work, but they've simply adopted the attitude of, 'let's give it a go and let's go as soon as we can', because the cost of it is not relevant," he stated.
Overly Optimistic
Several in the tutoring industry who share similar reservations.
Peter Cui, head and founder of a tutoring service, who also offer individual instructors, wrote that "the journey of embracing two identities, or indeed, forming one's identity, is something that must be lived into, not engineered."
The expert explained that he had emigrated from the Far East to the United Kingdom at the age of 7 years old, and had been brought up understanding and embodying two backgrounds. He went on to learn at a prestigious UK institution.
"The concept that an individual can act as a representation of Britishness, an individual who can somehow transplant the qualities of a British gentleman onto a 12-month-old child, strikes me as optimistic and impractical," he stated.
"From my perspective, employing a quintessentially English tutor from infancy will will not instantly create the goal they hope for.
"I never had that kind of mentor, and yet I have been fortunate enough to live numerous of the opportunities they desire for their son."
He stated: "The fact is, personal identity should not be imposed from the external environment; it must be embraced, and it must come from within."
Acquiring Englishness
Naturally, Britishness is something the expert thinks can be instructed – and commercialized.
"I believe the reality that the global community views us in this light is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
