"Parents residing in the northern part of London seeks an remarkable and qualified tutor to assist their youngest child on his initial journey to becoming an British gentleman."
Looking at this post, you might easily miss the phrase "initial stages" as just an expression.
However, it may be the crucial part of this distinctive position posting, as it seeks to recruit a tutor for a 12-month-old.
Many of submissions have already been sent in since the unidentified family advertised their call for the highly paid tutor, who needs to be "someone very special".
In recent few weeks, the listing has gained attention throughout the news, with several asking why?
Forward-Thinking Method
The CEO, CEO and founder of an education consultancy, which is supporting the family in their hunt, said that in spite of early skepticism, he considered the plan "far sighted", and "innovative".
When he met the family, he mentioned they understood the unconventional aspect of their demand, and how immature their son is.
But, they stated 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 stage "cultural bias had already set in".
What exactly did the family refer to by "cultural leaning"?
It's "comprehensive", Adam replied. "How you eat, the manner you speak".
He explained the elder child had absorbed "really subtle, body language" from the family, and had taken on their cultural habits. The family informed him they wished to avoid this pattern to repeat itself with their infant.
The plan: To hire a English tutor, who should speak with RP, to shape the baby from the very start.
Osmotic Learning
"Much of the development at the start here is rather acquired indirectly," said the CEO.
It's by means of this subtle influence that the family are aiming the child will pick up the UK customs they aim to impart.
He said the tutor had to be somebody who studied at "the right kinds of schools – the same kinds of schools as the family hope to send their son to".
"The instructor simply needs to be the appropriate candidate, they'll be carrying out things they aren't even aware they're doing, simply by nature," he commented.
Expense Not a Factor
The family told the expert the selected educator should preferably also have familiarity of or enthusiasm in riding, alpine skiing, creative fields and musical activities so as to influence the child in a broad spectrum of interests.
More than that though, he stated the family desired the tutor to enrol the child on a selection of lessons so the child would be "equestrian training and learning an tool 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.
"Considering the pros and cons of that, because it's undoubtedly a status symbol," he adds.
However, notwithstanding all this tutelage in "Britishness", would the child adopt so-called cultural leaning from the international family he lives with anyway?
"Yes", said he. "The parents know this could fail, but they've just taken the attitude of, 'why not attempt it and we should start as early as we can', because the cost of it is not relevant," he stated.
Impractical
There are some in the education sector who express those reservations.
Another CEO, chief executive of Blue Education, who provides individual instructors, wrote that "the process of becoming bicultural, or indeed, becoming oneself, is something that must be grown into, not designed."
The expert explained that he had relocated from the Far East to the UK at the age of 7 years old, and had been educated experiencing and practicing both cultures. He progressed to study at the University of Cambridge.
"The concept that a single person can serve as a living vessel of UK identity, an individual who can possibly impart the characteristics of a UK sophisticate upon a 12-month-old child, appears optimistic and unfeasible," he wrote.
"Based on my background, employing a typically English tutor from infancy will will not instantly create the outcome they want.
"I did not have that kind of mentor, and yet I have been fortunate enough to live several of the opportunities they hope for their son."
He continued: "The fact is, self-identity should not be dictated from the outside influences; it must be selected, and it must be internally driven."
Acquiring Englishness
Naturally, UK identity is something the CEO believes can be educated – and commercialized.
"I believe the reality that the world holds us in this regard is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
