"Parents based in North London is looking for an remarkable and qualified instructor to assist their youngest child on his initial journey to growing into an British gentleman."
Looking at this listing, you might naturally skip the phrase "initial stages" as simple figurative language.
But, it could be the most important part of this unusual employment listing, as it aims to find a teacher for a infant.
Hundreds of responses have already been sent in since the unnamed family posted their search for the £180,000 per year tutor, who must be "a uniquely qualified person".
During the past few weeks, the post has attracted notice in the news, with numerous questioning why?
Forward-Thinking Method
Adam Caller, head and founder of an education consultancy, which is supporting the family in their quest, said that in spite of early scepticism, he viewed the concept "far sighted", and "advanced".
When he consulted the family, he said they appreciated the atypical aspect of their request, and how young their son is.
Nevertheless, they clarified that they "didn't want to wait any longer" to hire a tutor, as they had held off until their firstborn was five, and by that point "cultural influence had already taken hold".
What precisely does the family refer to by "cultural predisposition"?
It's "everything", he answered. "How you eat, the way you speak".
He explained the older sibling had absorbed "very nuanced, non-verbal cues" from the family, and had adopted their cultural norms. The family explained to him they did not want history to repeat itself with their younger child.
The intention: To engage a British tutor, who should speak with RP, to guide the baby right from the beginning.
Osmotic Learning
"Much of the learning at the start here is somewhat acquired indirectly," explained the expert.
It's through this osmosis that the family are aiming the child will adopt the English characteristics they wish to impart.
He said the tutor must be someone who went to "prestigious academies – similar types of schools as the family aspire to send their son to".
"The educator just has to be the right kind of person, they'll be performing things they may not realize they're doing, just naturally," he added.
Money No Object
The family told the expert the successful candidate should ideally also have knowledge of or enthusiasm in horse riding, skiing, artistic pursuits and music so as to influence the child in a broad spectrum of interests.
Additionally though, he said the family hoped the tutor to sign up the child on a range of courses so the child would be "horseback riding and starting an musical instrument by the time they are around three years old".
In the family's view, helping their son develop into a "British gentleman" will bring about success and open doors.
"For all the advantages and disadvantages of that, because it's undoubtedly a social class indicator," he comments.
Yet, in spite of all this guidance in "UK identity", might the child absorb what is termed cultural bias from the international family he resides with regardless?
"Certainly", said the CEO. "They understand this might not succeed, but they've simply adopted the view of, 'we should try and we should start as quickly as we can', because the expense of it is irrelevant," he said.
Overly Optimistic
Several in the education sector who have these concerns.
An education leader, chief executive of a tutoring service, who supplies private tutors, commented that "the process of becoming bicultural, or actually, becoming oneself, is something that must be experienced personally, not engineered."
Peter wrote that he had relocated from China to the Britain at the age of 7 years old, and had been educated experiencing and practicing two backgrounds. He went on to learn at a prestigious UK institution.
"The concept that a single person can serve as a representation of UK identity, an individual who can somehow impart the qualities of a UK sophisticate onto a 12-month-old child, appears optimistic and impractical," he stated.
"Based on my background, employing a quintessentially UK tutor from infancy will does not instantly create the outcome they hope for.
"I wasn't provided with such a tutor, and nevertheless I have been lucky enough to live numerous of the situations they aspire for their son."
He added: "The fact is, self-identity cannot be forced from the outside influences; it must be embraced, and it must originate internally."
Purchasing UK Culture
Of course, Britishness is something Adam hopes can be taught – and marketed.
"In my view the reality that the world views us in this regard is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
