"A family residing in the northern part of London wants to find an extraordinary and skilled tutor to assist their most junior child on his first steps to growing into an English gentleman."
Upon seeing this post, you might easily miss the term "first-steps" as just figurative language.
But, it may be the most important part of this unusual employment listing, as it aims to find a mentor for a one-year-old.
Numerous of submissions have since been sent in since the unnamed family advertised their call for the £180k-a-year tutor, who has to be "someone very special".
Over the last few weeks, the post has received attention in the media, with several questioning why?
Progressive Approach
Adam Caller, CEO and founder of a global tutoring firm, which is helping the family in their quest, stated that despite early scepticism, he viewed the idea "forward-looking", and "advanced".
When he spoke with the family, he said they recognized the atypical character of their requirement, and how young their son is.
But, they clarified that they "were unwilling to delay any longer" to get a tutor, as they had postponed until their older child was five, and by that point "cultural influence had already set in".
But what does the family mean by "cultural leaning"?
It's "all-encompassing", the expert responded. "The manner you eat, the way you speak".
He said the older sibling had adopted "very nuanced, body language" from the family, and had assumed their cultural habits. The family told him they did not want the same situation to happen again with their new baby.
The plan: To engage a British tutor, who needs to speak with RP, to influence the baby from the very start.
Natural Absorption
"A great deal of the education at the beginning here is somewhat osmotic," explained Adam.
It's through this subtle influence that the family are expecting the child will pick up the British traits they wish to instil.
The consultant said the tutor had to be somebody who studied at "prestigious academies – comparable categories of schools as the family plan to send their son to".
"The educator simply needs to be the right kind of person, they'll be performing things they aren't even aware they're doing, effortlessly," he added.
Cost Not Relevant
The family informed him the selected educator should ideally also have familiarity of or interest in horse riding, winter sports, creative fields and musical activities so as to shape the child in a wide range of interests.
Furthermore though, he explained the family wanted the tutor to register the child on a selection of classes so the child would be "pony-riding and learning an musical instrument by the time they are approximately three years old".
In the family's view, helping their son grow into a "UK sophisticate" will result in success and create opportunities.
"For all the rights and wrongs of that, because it's undoubtedly a status symbol," he adds.
However, notwithstanding all this guidance in "Britishness", could the child absorb so-called cultural leaning from the international family he lives with anyway?
"Absolutely", said the CEO. "They realize this might not succeed, but they've just taken the attitude of, 'let's give it a go and we'll proceed as early as we can', because the price of it is irrelevant," he said.
Idealistic and Unrealistic
Several in the education sector who have similar reservations.
Peter Cui, CEO and founder of a tutoring service, who provides individual instructors, commented that "the process of adopting dual cultures, or indeed, discovering oneself, is something that must be grown into, not manufactured."
Peter noted that he had moved from Asia to the UK at the time of 7 years old, and had been educated understanding and practicing both cultures. He went on to study at a prestigious UK institution.
"The notion that an individual can serve as a embodiment of Britishness, a person who can in some way transfer the qualities of a UK sophisticate onto a 12-month-old child, seems to me idealistic and unrealistic," he stated.
"In my experience, employing a typically English tutor from babyhood will will not instantly produce the result they desire.
"I wasn't provided with that kind of mentor, and however I have been lucky enough to enjoy several of the opportunities they desire for their son."
He added: "The truth is, personal identity can not be dictated from the outside influences; it must be chosen, and it must come from within."
Buying Britishness
Of course, UK identity is something the CEO hopes can be taught – and sold.
"In my view the fact that the world regards us in this respect is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
