"A family based in north London seeks an remarkable and skilled tutor to guide their youngest child on his initial journey to turning into an English gentleman."
Upon seeing this post, you might naturally miss the phrase "beginning" as mere figurative language.
Yet, it might be the most significant aspect of this unusual employment listing, as it attempts to recruit a mentor for a infant.
Hundreds of submissions have since been sent in since the unnamed family published their call for the £180,000 per year tutor, who must be "an exceptional individual".
During the past few weeks, the listing has received notice across the news, with several questioning why?
Progressive Approach
Adam Caller, chief executive of Tutors International, which is assisting the family in their quest, explained that despite early skepticism, he considered the concept "visionary", and "progressive".
When he consulted the family, he said they appreciated the unconventional aspect of their requirement, and how young their son is.
Nevertheless, they explained that they "preferred not to postpone any longer" to hire a tutor, as they had held off until their firstborn was five, and by that stage "cultural conditioning had already become established".
What precisely does the family mean by "cultural predisposition"?
It's "everything", Adam responded. "How you eat, the way you speak".
He explained the elder child had picked up "really subtle, unspoken signals" from the family, and had assumed their cultural norms. The family explained to Adam they hoped to prevent this pattern to happen again with their new baby.
The plan: To bring in a UK tutor, who must speak with standard English accent, to shape the baby right from the beginning.
Subtle Influence
"Much of the education at the outset here is somewhat osmotic," explained Adam.
It's by means of this natural absorption that the family are aiming the child will adopt the English characteristics they aim to impart.
He explained the tutor had to be somebody who attended "the appropriate educational institutions – similar types of schools as the family aspire to send their son to".
"The tutor must be the appropriate candidate, they'll be carrying out things they don't even know they're doing, simply by nature," he added.
Expense Not a Factor
The family informed the expert the selected educator should ideally also have familiarity of or enthusiasm in equestrian activities, alpine skiing, artistic pursuits and instrumental training so as to inspire the child in a wide range of passions.
More than that though, he said the family hoped the tutor to enrol the child on a selection of lessons so the child would be "pony-riding and starting an instrument by the time they are about three years old".
In the family's perspective, helping their son become a "English gentleman" will bring about success and provide access.
"Considering the advantages and disadvantages of that, because it's certainly a status symbol," he adds.
But, in spite of all this instruction in "English culture", would the child pick up so-called cultural bias from the multicultural family he resides with in any case?
"Yes", answered Adam. "The family understand this might not succeed, but they've simply adopted the view of, 'why not attempt it and let's go as soon as we can', because the expense of it is not a concern," he stated.
Idealistic and Unrealistic
Several in the tutoring industry who have similar doubts.
Peter Cui, head and founder of Blue Education, who supplies private tutors, stated that "the development of adopting dual cultures, or actually, forming one's identity, is something that must be experienced personally, not engineered."
The expert wrote that he had moved from China to the United Kingdom at the age of 7 years old, and had been raised understanding and embodying both cultures. He went on to learn at Cambridge University.
"The notion that an individual can serve as a representation of Britishness, someone who can possibly transfer the qualities of a UK sophisticate upon a 12-month-old child, seems to me naive and unfeasible," he commented.
"Based on my background, employing a quintessentially UK tutor from babyhood will does not automatically achieve the goal they want.
"I did not have that kind of mentor, and yet I have been lucky enough to enjoy numerous of the situations they hope for their son."
He stated: "The reality is, personal identity cannot be dictated from the outside; it must be embraced, and it must come from within."
Acquiring Englishness
Naturally, Britishness is something the expert hopes can be instructed – and commercialized.
"I believe the situation that the international society regards us in this light is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
