"A household based in North London is looking for an remarkable and skilled tutor to support their smallest child on his first steps to turning into an English gentleman."
Looking at this post, you might readily skip the term "first-steps" as mere a turn of phrase.
But, it may be the most significant part of this distinctive job advert, as it seeks to find a teacher for a 12-month-old.
Hundreds of applications have since been sent in since the unnamed family published their request for the highly paid tutor, who must be "someone very special".
Over the last few weeks, the post has received attention in the media, with numerous wondering why?
Forward-Thinking Method
The CEO, chief executive of an education consultancy, which is supporting the family in their hunt, said that notwithstanding early skepticism, he found the idea "far sighted", and "progressive".
When he consulted the family, he noted they recognized the atypical nature of their demand, and how early in age their son is.
However, they explained that they "didn't want to wait any longer" to hire a tutor, as they had postponed until their firstborn was five, and by that age "cultural influence had by then set in".
What precisely did the family indicate by "cultural bias"?
It's "comprehensive", the expert answered. "The way you eat, the manner you speak".
He stated the firstborn had adopted "extremely delicate, non-verbal cues" from the family, and had adopted their cultural norms. The family explained to him they wished to avoid the same situation to happen again with their infant.
The intention: To bring in a UK tutor, who needs to speak with standard English accent, to influence the baby from day one.
Subtle Influence
"Much of the learning at the beginning here is somewhat osmotic," explained Adam.
It's through this osmosis that the family are expecting the child will pick up the UK customs they want to impart.
He explained the tutor needed to be someone who went to "the appropriate educational institutions – similar types of schools as the family hope to send their son to".
"The tutor simply needs to be the suitable individual, they'll be doing things they may not realize they're doing, effortlessly," he said.
Money No Object
The family explained to him the selected educator should preferably also have understanding of or passion in equestrian activities, skiing, artistic pursuits and music so as to inspire the child in a wide range of passions.
More than that though, he explained the family desired the tutor to sign up the child on a variety of classes so the child would be "horseback riding and learning an instrument by the time they are about three years old".
In the family's minds, guiding their son grow into a "British gentleman" will bring about accomplishment and create opportunities.
"Taking into account the advantages and disadvantages of that, because it's certainly a social class indicator," he comments.
But, despite all this tutelage in "Britishness", would the child adopt alleged cultural leaning from the multicultural family he lives with in any case?
"Absolutely", replied the CEO. "The parents understand this might not succeed, but they've just taken the attitude of, 'why not attempt it and we should start as quickly as we can', because the expense of it is not a concern," he stated.
Impractical
Several in the tutoring industry who share these doubts.
Another CEO, head and founder of Blue Education, who provides individual instructors, commented that "the development of adopting dual cultures, or indeed, becoming oneself, is something that must be experienced personally, not engineered."
The expert noted that he had moved from Asia to the Britain at the period of childhood, and had been brought up understanding and embodying two backgrounds. He progressed to learn at the University of Cambridge.
"The concept that an individual can serve as a representation of Britishness, someone who can in some way impart the attributes of a UK sophisticate onto a one-year-old child, strikes me as optimistic and unfeasible," he wrote.
"In my experience, employing a typically UK tutor from early childhood will will not instantly achieve the goal they want.
"I never had such a figure, and nevertheless I have been lucky enough to live several of the experiences they hope for their son."
He stated: "The reality is, self-identity should not be forced from the external environment; it must be selected, and it must be internally driven."
Acquiring Englishness
Certainly, Britishness is something the CEO believes can be instructed – and commercialized.
"In my view the reality that the global community regards us in this light is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
