"Parents based in North London is looking for an remarkable and qualified instructor to guide their youngest child on his initial journey to becoming an English gentleman."
Upon seeing this listing, you might easily overlook the phrase "initial stages" as mere figurative language.
However, it may be the most significant part of this unusual employment listing, as it seeks to find a mentor for a one-year-old.
Hundreds of applications have already been submitted since the unidentified family published their call for the £180k-a-year tutor, who must be "someone very special".
Over the last few weeks, the advert has received notice throughout the media, with several questioning why?
Forward-Thinking Method
A tutoring expert, head and founder of Tutors International, which is assisting the family in their hunt, stated that despite initial scepticism, he found the idea "far sighted", and "innovative".
When he spoke with the family, he noted they appreciated the unconventional nature of their requirement, and how early in age their son is.
However, they clarified that they "didn't want to wait any longer" to hire a tutor, as they had waited until their elder sibling was five, and by that point "cultural influence had by then set in".
What precisely did the family mean by "cultural predisposition"?
It's "comprehensive", Adam replied. "The way you eat, the manner you speak".
He stated the elder child had adopted "extremely delicate, body language" from the family, and had adopted their cultural norms. The family informed the consultant they hoped to prevent this pattern to recur with their younger child.
The intention: To hire a British tutor, who needs to speak with RP, to shape the baby right from the beginning.
Natural Absorption
"A great deal of the learning at the start here is rather acquired indirectly," said the CEO.
It's by means of this natural absorption that the family are hoping the child will acquire the English characteristics they wish to cultivate.
He noted the tutor must be an individual who went to "the right kinds of schools – the same kinds of schools as the family plan to send their son to".
"The educator must be the suitable individual, they'll be carrying out things they don't even know they're doing, effortlessly," he added.
Money No Object
The family told him the selected educator should preferably also have familiarity of or interest in horse riding, skiing, creative fields and instrumental training so as to influence the child in a wide range of passions.
Furthermore though, he said the family hoped the tutor to sign up the child on a range of lessons so the child would be "equestrian training and learning an tool by the time they are around three years old".
In the family's perspective, helping their son become a "British gentleman" will bring about success and create opportunities.
"For all the pros and cons of that, because it's undoubtedly a social class indicator," he adds.
However, notwithstanding all this instruction in "Britishness", could the child adopt what is termed cultural leaning from the globally influenced family he lives with regardless?
"Absolutely", said the CEO. "They know this may not work, but they've merely embraced the view of, 'let's give it a go and let's go as soon as we can', because the expense of it is not a concern," he explained.
Idealistic and Unrealistic
There are some in the tutoring industry who share those doubts.
Peter Cui, CEO and founder of a tutoring service, who also offer private tutors, commented that "the process of embracing two identities, or indeed, discovering oneself, is something that must be experienced personally, not designed."
He wrote that he had emigrated from Asia to the United Kingdom at the age of 7 years old, and had been brought up understanding and living both cultures. He went on to study at a prestigious UK institution.
"The concept that one individual can function as a embodiment of English culture, someone who can in some way transfer the qualities of a UK sophisticate onto a 12-month-old child, strikes me as idealistic and unfeasible," he wrote.
"From my perspective, employing a quintessentially UK tutor from infancy will will not instantly achieve the result they want.
"I wasn't provided with such a tutor, and nevertheless I have been lucky enough to live many of the experiences they aspire for their son."
He added: "The truth is, self-identity can not be imposed from the external environment; it must be chosen, and it must originate internally."
Purchasing UK Culture
Certainly, English culture is something the expert hopes can be taught – and commercialized.
"I believe the situation that the world views us in this regard is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
