"Parents based in north London seeks an remarkable and qualified educator to support their youngest child on his initial journey to becoming an British gentleman."
When reading this listing, you might naturally skip the wording "initial stages" as just a turn of phrase.
However, it may be the most important element of this unusual job advert, as it aims to recruit a teacher for a 12-month-old.
Numerous of responses have now been sent in since the anonymous family posted their call for the £180,000 per year tutor, who needs to be "a uniquely qualified person".
Over the last few weeks, the advert has gained attention across the media, with numerous wondering why?
Progressive Approach
Adam Caller, chief executive of an education consultancy, which is assisting the family in their quest, stated that in spite of initial scepticism, he viewed the idea "forward-looking", and "progressive".
When he met the family, he noted they appreciated the atypical character of their request, and how immature their son is.
But, they clarified that they "preferred not to postpone any longer" to hire a tutor, as they had postponed until their firstborn was five, and by that point "cultural bias had already taken hold".
But what does the family mean by "cultural leaning"?
It's "comprehensive", Adam responded. "The way you eat, the way you speak".
He explained the older sibling had absorbed "very nuanced, unspoken signals" from the family, and had assumed their cultural norms. The family told him they did not want history to repeat itself with their younger child.
The strategy: To engage a UK tutor, who should speak with standard English accent, to guide the baby right from the beginning.
Osmotic Learning
"A lot of the learning at the start here is somewhat osmotic," said the CEO.
It's via this subtle influence that the family are hoping the child will pick up the UK customs they want to impart.
He said the tutor must be somebody who went to "the appropriate educational institutions – the same kinds of schools as the family plan to send their son to".
"The educator must be the appropriate candidate, they'll be doing things they aren't even aware they're doing, simply by nature," he commented.
Expense Not a Factor
The family explained to Adam the successful candidate should ideally also have understanding of or passion in riding, skiing, artistic pursuits and musical activities so as to shape the child in a wide range of hobbies.
More than that though, he said the family wanted the tutor to register the child on a variety of classes so the child would be "horseback riding and picking up an musical instrument by the time they are approximately three years old".
In the family's minds, guiding their son become a "UK sophisticate" will lead to achievement and create opportunities.
"For all the pros and cons of that, because it's certainly a social class indicator," he comments.
Yet, despite all this instruction in "Britishness", could the child absorb alleged cultural leaning from the international family he lives with in any case?
"Yes", replied he. "The parents realize this might not succeed, but they've merely embraced the view of, 'why not attempt it and let's go as early as we can', because the price of it is irrelevant," he said.
Impractical
Several in the tutoring industry who share those reservations.
Peter Cui, CEO and founder of an educational organization, who also offer personal educators, stated that "the process of adopting dual cultures, or indeed, becoming oneself, is something that must be lived into, not designed."
The expert wrote that he had moved from China to the Britain at the age of seven, and had been raised understanding and living both cultures. He progressed to study at a prestigious UK institution.
"The concept that an individual can function as a embodiment of UK identity, an individual who can possibly impart the attributes of a British gentleman onto a one-year-old child, strikes me as optimistic and unrealistic," he stated.
"Based on my background, engaging a distinctly British tutor from infancy will does not instantly produce the outcome they hope for.
"I never had such a tutor, and however I have been fortunate enough to live several of the opportunities they hope for their son."
He continued: "The fact is, cultural identity can not be dictated from the external environment; it must be embraced, and it must come from within."
Buying Britishness
Of course, English culture is something Adam thinks can be taught – and commercialized.
"I think the reality that the global community views us in this light is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
