"A household based in the northern part of London seeks an extraordinary and qualified tutor to guide their most junior child on his initial journey to becoming an British gentleman."
Upon seeing this listing, you might naturally miss the term "initial stages" as mere a turn of phrase.
But, it might be the most significant element of this unique position posting, as it seeks to hire a mentor for a one-year-old.
Numerous of applications have already been received since the unnamed family posted their call for the highly paid tutor, who must be "a uniquely qualified person".
Over the last few weeks, the advert has attracted notice throughout the press, with several wondering why?
Innovative Idea
A tutoring expert, CEO and founder of a global tutoring firm, which is supporting the family in their search, explained that notwithstanding first skepticism, he viewed the concept "visionary", and "progressive".
When he spoke with the family, he said they understood the unconventional nature of their request, and how early in age their son is.
Nevertheless, they explained that they "were unwilling to delay any longer" to engage a tutor, as they had postponed until their elder sibling was five, and by that point "cultural influence had already set in".
What exactly does the family indicate by "cultural leaning"?
It's "all-encompassing", Adam replied. "How you eat, how you speak".
He stated the older sibling had picked up "extremely delicate, non-verbal cues" from the family, and had adopted their cultural norms. The family explained to him they did not want the same situation to recur with their infant.
The intention: To hire a British tutor, who should speak with Received Pronunciation, to influence the baby from the very start.
Natural Absorption
"A great deal of the education at the start here is kind of acquired indirectly," said Adam.
It's by means of this osmosis that the family are expecting the child will adopt the English characteristics they aim to cultivate.
Adam explained the tutor must be someone who went to "the right kinds of schools – comparable categories of schools as the family plan to send their son to".
"The tutor simply needs to be the right kind of person, they'll be performing things they don't even know they're doing, just naturally," he said.
Expense Not a Factor
The family told the expert the selected educator should ideally also have knowledge of or enthusiasm in riding, alpine skiing, artistic pursuits and musical activities so as to shape the child in a diverse set of passions.
Furthermore though, he stated the family desired the tutor to sign up the child on a selection of courses so the child would be "pony-riding and learning an musical instrument by the time they are around three years old".
In the family's view, assisting their son become a "UK sophisticate" will lead to achievement and provide access.
"Taking into account the rights and wrongs of that, because it's undoubtedly a class statement," he adds.
Yet, notwithstanding all this tutelage in "English culture", could the child adopt so-called cultural leaning from the international family he is raised by anyway?
"Absolutely", said the CEO. "The parents know this could fail, but they've just taken the attitude of, 'we should try and we should start as soon as we can', because the price of it is not a concern," he stated.
Impractical
Several in the education sector who have similar concerns.
Peter Cui, chief executive of a tutoring service, who also offer individual instructors, commented that "the journey of embracing two identities, or actually, discovering oneself, is something that must be lived into, not designed."
Peter wrote that he had moved from the Far East to the United Kingdom at the age of 7 years old, and had been brought up experiencing and living two backgrounds. He went on to learn at Cambridge University.
"The notion that an individual can function as a representation of Britishness, a person who can possibly transfer the characteristics of a British gentleman to a 12-month-old child, appears optimistic and unrealistic," he wrote.
"From my perspective, having a quintessentially UK tutor from infancy will does not instantly achieve the outcome they desire.
"I did not have such a tutor, and yet I have been privileged enough to experience several of the situations they desire for their son."
He continued: "The truth is, personal identity can not be forced from the outside influences; it must be selected, and it must come from within."
Buying Britishness
Naturally, English culture is something Adam thinks can be instructed – and sold.
"In my view the situation that the international society holds us in this light is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
