"A family located in the northern part of London is looking for an remarkable and skilled educator to assist their youngest child on his first steps to becoming an British gentleman."
Looking at this post, you might readily miss the term "initial stages" as simple an expression.
However, it might be the most important part of this unique employment listing, as it aims to hire a mentor for a 12-month-old.
Hundreds of applications have since been submitted since the anonymous family advertised their call for the highly paid tutor, who has to be "a uniquely qualified person".
Over the last few weeks, the post has gained attention throughout the media, with many asking why?
Innovative Idea
Adam Caller, head and founder of an education consultancy, which is helping the family in their search, stated that in spite of initial skepticism, he viewed the concept "forward-looking", and "advanced".
When he consulted the family, he mentioned they recognized the unconventional nature of their demand, and how young their son is.
Nevertheless, they clarified that they "preferred not to postpone any longer" to get a tutor, as they had postponed until their elder sibling was five, and by that age "cultural bias had already set in".
What precisely did the family refer to by "cultural predisposition"?
It's "comprehensive", he answered. "The manner you eat, the way you speak".
He said the older sibling had absorbed "very nuanced, non-verbal cues" from the family, and had taken on their cultural habits. The family explained to Adam they did not want the same situation to recur with their infant.
The strategy: To hire a UK tutor, who must speak with RP, to shape the baby right from the beginning.
Subtle Influence
"A great deal of the education at the beginning here is rather osmotic," said the CEO.
It's by means of this subtle influence that the family are expecting the child will pick up the English characteristics they aim to instil.
Adam said the tutor had to be an individual who went to "the right kinds of schools – the same kinds of schools as the family aspire to send their son to".
"The educator simply needs to be the appropriate candidate, they'll be doing things they don't even know they're doing, effortlessly," he added.
Cost Not Relevant
The family informed the expert the chosen tutor should ideally also have familiarity of or interest in riding, alpine skiing, creative fields and music so as to influence the child in a wide range of passions.
Furthermore though, he said the family desired the tutor to register the child on a selection of lessons so the child would be "pony-riding and learning an tool by the time they are about three years old".
In the family's view, helping their son develop into a "British gentleman" will result in success and create opportunities.
"Considering the pros and cons of that, because it's undoubtedly a social class indicator," he notes.
But, in spite of all this guidance in "UK identity", might the child adopt so-called cultural bias from the multicultural family he is raised by in any case?
"Yes", said the CEO. "The parents realize this might not succeed, but they've just taken the view of, 'we should try and we'll proceed as quickly as we can', because the expense of it is not a concern," he explained.
Overly Optimistic
There are some in the tutoring industry who have those doubts.
Peter Cui, chief executive of an educational organization, who supplies personal educators, wrote that "the process of embracing two identities, or actually, becoming oneself, is something that must be grown into, not designed."
Peter explained that he had moved from China to the UK at the time of seven, and had been educated understanding and embodying both cultures. He went on to study at Cambridge University.
"The notion that a single person can function as a embodiment of UK identity, a person who can in some way transplant the qualities of a UK sophisticate onto a 12-month-old child, seems to me optimistic and impractical," he wrote.
"Based on my background, engaging a typically English tutor from babyhood will will not necessarily achieve the outcome they hope for.
"I never had such a tutor, and yet I have been privileged enough to live numerous of the experiences they hope for their son."
He added: "The fact is, cultural identity can not be dictated from the outside influences; it must be embraced, and it must be internally driven."
Buying Britishness
Naturally, Britishness is something the CEO thinks can be educated – and sold.
"In my view the fact that the world holds us in this regard is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
