"A family located in north London seeks an exceptional and qualified tutor to guide their most junior child on his first steps to turning into an British gentleman."
Upon seeing this listing, you might easily overlook the term "first-steps" as simple figurative language.
But, it might be the most important element of this unique position posting, as it aims to recruit a tutor for a infant.
Many of submissions have now been submitted since the anonymous family advertised their request for the £180k-a-year tutor, who must be "someone very special".
During the past few weeks, the advert has attracted attention throughout the press, with many questioning why?
Progressive Approach
The CEO, head and founder of a global tutoring firm, which is supporting the family in their quest, said that in spite of initial scepticism, he considered the concept "forward-looking", and "advanced".
When he consulted the family, he noted they appreciated the unconventional character of their demand, and how young their son is.
However, they stated that they "preferred not to postpone any longer" to engage a tutor, as they had waited until their older child was five, and by that age "cultural influence had already become established".
But what does the family mean by "cultural leaning"?
It's "all-encompassing", the expert answered. "How you eat, the manner you speak".
He explained the elder child had absorbed "really subtle, unspoken signals" from the family, and had adopted their cultural ways. The family informed Adam they wished to avoid the same situation to repeat itself with their younger child.
The intention: To bring in a British tutor, who must speak with standard English accent, to influence the baby from day one.
Subtle Influence
"A lot of the education at the outset here is rather acquired indirectly," said the CEO.
It's by means of this natural absorption that the family are aiming the child will acquire the British traits they want to impart.
He said the tutor must be someone who went to "the appropriate educational institutions – similar types of schools as the family aspire to send their son to".
"The educator must be the suitable individual, they'll be doing things they aren't even aware they're doing, simply by nature," he said.
Money No Object
The family explained to the expert the chosen tutor should preferably also have understanding of or enthusiasm in horse riding, alpine skiing, artistic pursuits and music so as to influence the child in a broad spectrum of interests.
Furthermore though, he said the family hoped the tutor to register the child on a range of classes so the child would be "horseback riding and starting an instrument by the time they are approximately three years old".
In the family's view, assisting their son develop into a "British gentleman" will result in accomplishment and open doors.
"Considering the rights and wrongs of that, because it's undoubtedly a social class indicator," he comments.
But, in spite of all this guidance in "Britishness", would the child adopt alleged cultural influence from the globally influenced family he is raised by in any case?
"Yes", said the CEO. "They understand this may not work, but they've simply adopted the attitude of, 'let's give it a go and we should start as early as we can', because the price of it is not relevant," he said.
Impractical
A number of in the education sector who have similar concerns.
An education leader, chief executive of a tutoring service, who also offer private tutors, commented that "the process of embracing two identities, or in fact, discovering oneself, is something that must be grown into, not engineered."
He noted that he had emigrated from China to the United Kingdom at the time of childhood, and had been educated experiencing and embodying both cultures. He progressed to be educated at the University of Cambridge.
"The concept that an individual can function as a representation of UK identity, a person who can possibly transplant the characteristics of a UK sophisticate onto a one-year-old child, seems to me naive and unrealistic," he commented.
"From my perspective, engaging a distinctly English tutor from infancy will not necessarily create the result they want.
"I never had such a figure, and yet I have been fortunate enough to experience numerous of the opportunities they aspire for their son."
He stated: "The reality is, cultural identity cannot be forced from the external environment; it must be selected, and it must originate internally."
Purchasing UK Culture
Certainly, English culture is something the expert hopes can be educated – and sold.
"I believe the reality that the world views us in this respect is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
