"A household located in north London is looking for an extraordinary and qualified instructor to assist their most junior child on his initial journey to turning into an English gentleman."
When reading this listing, you might naturally miss the phrase "beginning" as mere figurative language.
Yet, it might be the most significant element of this unique employment listing, as it seeks to hire a mentor for a one-year-old.
Hundreds of responses have since been sent in since the unnamed family posted their call for the £180k-a-year tutor, who has to be "a uniquely qualified person".
During the past few weeks, the advert has attracted interest in the press, with several asking why?
Forward-Thinking Method
Adam Caller, chief executive of an education consultancy, which is helping the family in their search, said that notwithstanding early skepticism, he viewed the plan "far sighted", and "advanced".
When he met the family, he noted they understood the unconventional nature of their request, and how early in age their son is.
However, they clarified that they "preferred not to postpone any longer" to engage a tutor, as they had waited until their elder sibling was five, and by that age "cultural bias had already become established".
What exactly did the family refer to by "cultural bias"?
It's "all-encompassing", Adam replied. "The manner you eat, the manner you speak".
He stated the elder child had adopted "very nuanced, body language" from the family, and had adopted their cultural norms. The family explained to Adam they did not want the same situation to happen again with their new baby.
The intention: To engage a British tutor, who should speak with standard English accent, to influence the baby right from the beginning.
Osmotic Learning
"Much of the learning at the outset here is somewhat absorbed naturally," said the CEO.
It's through this subtle influence that the family are expecting the child will adopt the English characteristics they want to cultivate.
The consultant explained the tutor must be someone who studied at "prestigious academies – the same kinds of schools as the family aspire to send their son to".
"The tutor simply needs to be the right kind of person, they'll be performing things they aren't even aware they're doing, simply by nature," he commented.
Expense Not a Factor
The family explained to him the selected educator should ideally also have understanding of or interest in riding, skiing, the arts and instrumental training so as to inspire the child in a wide range of passions.
Additionally though, he stated the family wanted the tutor to register 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, guiding their son develop into a "British gentleman" will result in achievement and create opportunities.
"Taking into account the rights and wrongs of that, because it's certainly a social class indicator," he comments.
However, in spite of all this guidance in "English culture", might the child adopt what is termed cultural leaning from the international family he is raised by anyway?
"Certainly", said Adam. "They understand this may not work, but they've just taken the view of, 'why not attempt it and we should start as quickly as we can', because the cost of it is irrelevant," he said.
Overly Optimistic
Several in the education sector who share those reservations.
Peter Cui, CEO and founder of a tutoring service, who provides private tutors, stated that "the journey of becoming bicultural, or indeed, becoming oneself, is something that must be grown into, not manufactured."
He wrote that he had emigrated from China to the United Kingdom at the period of seven, and had been brought up understanding and living both cultures. He progressed to study at a prestigious UK institution.
"The notion that a single person can serve as a embodiment of English culture, an individual who can possibly transplant the attributes of a English gentleman to a one-year-old child, seems to me idealistic and impractical," he stated.
"From my perspective, engaging a distinctly British tutor from infancy will does not automatically create the result they desire.
"I never had such a figure, and nevertheless I have been lucky enough to enjoy many of the opportunities they hope for their son."
He added: "The fact is, personal identity cannot be imposed from the outside influences; it must be embraced, and it must come from within."
Acquiring Englishness
Certainly, Britishness is something the CEO believes can be instructed – and sold.
"I think the reality that the international society views us in this light is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
