"A family located in North London seeks an extraordinary and skilled tutor to support their youngest child on his first steps to turning into an English gentleman."
Upon seeing this listing, you might easily overlook the phrase "first-steps" as simple a turn of phrase.
But, it could be the most important part of this distinctive position posting, as it seeks to recruit a teacher for a 12-month-old.
Hundreds of submissions have already been sent in since the unidentified family published their search for the £180,000 per year tutor, who has to be "someone very special".
During the past few weeks, the advert has gained interest throughout the news, with numerous questioning why?
Innovative Idea
Adam Caller, head and founder of an education consultancy, which is helping the family in their search, said that notwithstanding first scepticism, he considered the plan "far sighted", and "innovative".
When he met the family, he mentioned they understood the unconventional nature of their request, and how immature their son is.
Nevertheless, they explained that they "preferred not to postpone any longer" to get a tutor, as they had waited until their elder sibling was five, and by that stage "cultural influence had already set in".
What precisely does the family refer to by "cultural bias"?
It's "everything", he responded. "The manner you eat, the way you speak".
He explained the elder child had picked up "extremely delicate, unspoken signals" from the family, and had assumed their cultural ways. The family explained to the consultant they wished to avoid history to repeat itself with their new baby.
The plan: To bring in a UK tutor, who needs to speak with RP, to influence the baby from day one.
Osmotic Learning
"A lot of the learning at the outset here is rather absorbed naturally," stated the expert.
It's by means of this natural absorption that the family are hoping the child will pick up the English characteristics they want to impart.
The consultant noted the tutor must be an individual who went to "prestigious academies – comparable categories of schools as the family aspire to send their son to".
"The educator just has to be the appropriate candidate, they'll be doing things they may not realize they're doing, just naturally," he commented.
Cost Not Relevant
The family told the expert the successful candidate should preferably also have familiarity of or enthusiasm in equestrian activities, winter sports, artistic pursuits and music so as to shape the child in a wide range of interests.
Additionally though, he stated the family desired the tutor to register the child on a range of lessons so the child would be "pony-riding and picking up an instrument by the time they are around three years old".
In the family's view, helping their son develop into a "British gentleman" will lead to achievement and create opportunities.
"Taking into account the rights and wrongs of that, because it's certainly a class statement," he notes.
Yet, notwithstanding all this instruction in "UK identity", could the child pick up what is termed cultural leaning from the multicultural family he lives with in any case?
"Certainly", said he. "The family realize this could fail, but they've just taken the attitude of, 'let's give it a go and we should start as soon as we can', because the expense of it is not relevant," he said.
Idealistic and Unrealistic
A number of in the private teaching field who have similar concerns.
Peter Cui, CEO and founder of an educational organization, who supplies private tutors, stated that "the development of embracing two identities, or indeed, becoming oneself, is something that must be experienced personally, not designed."
He wrote that he had emigrated from Asia to the UK at the age of 7 years old, and had been educated knowing and living two backgrounds. He continued to be educated at a prestigious UK institution.
"The idea that an individual can act as a embodiment of Britishness, a person who can somehow transfer the characteristics of a British gentleman onto a infant child, strikes me as naive and unfeasible," he commented.
"From my perspective, engaging a quintessentially UK tutor from infancy will will not instantly create the result they desire.
"I never had such a figure, and however I have been lucky enough to enjoy many of the experiences they hope for their son."
He stated: "The reality is, self-identity can not be dictated from the external environment; it must be chosen, and it must come from within."
Acquiring Englishness
Naturally, UK identity is something the CEO believes can be instructed – and marketed.
"In my view the reality that the international society holds us in this light is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
