"A family residing in the northern part of London wants to find an extraordinary and qualified tutor to guide their smallest child on his early path to becoming an British gentleman."
When reading this post, you might easily miss the term "initial stages" as simple a turn of phrase.
Yet, it could be the crucial part of this unique job advert, as it attempts to recruit a tutor for a one-year-old.
Hundreds of submissions have already been received since the unidentified family published their request for the highly paid tutor, who has to be "an exceptional individual".
During the past few weeks, the listing has gained attention in the press, with many wondering why?
Forward-Thinking Method
A tutoring expert, head and founder of an education consultancy, which is supporting the family in their hunt, said that despite first doubt, he considered the concept "far sighted", and "progressive".
When he met the family, he said they understood the atypical nature of their demand, and how immature their son is.
However, they clarified that they "were unwilling to delay any longer" to get a tutor, as they had postponed until their older child was five, and by that point "cultural influence had by then set in".
What exactly does the family indicate by "cultural bias"?
It's "everything", the expert answered. "How you eat, the manner you speak".
He stated the elder child had picked up "extremely delicate, unspoken signals" from the family, and had adopted their cultural ways. The family informed the consultant they did not want the same situation to happen again with their younger child.
The plan: To engage a English tutor, who needs to speak with RP, to shape the baby from the very start.
Subtle Influence
"A great deal of the development at the outset here is kind of absorbed naturally," explained the expert.
It's by means of this natural absorption that the family are hoping the child will adopt the UK customs they want to impart.
He said the tutor needed to be someone who went to "prestigious academies – comparable categories of schools as the family aspire to send their son to".
"The tutor simply needs to be the appropriate candidate, they'll be carrying out things they don't even know they're doing, effortlessly," he said.
Cost Not Relevant
The family explained to the expert the successful candidate should ideally also have understanding of or enthusiasm in equestrian activities, skiing, creative fields and music so as to shape the child in a wide range of passions.
Furthermore though, he stated the family hoped the tutor to sign up the child on a range of courses so the child would be "equestrian training and starting an instrument by the time they are around three years old".
In the family's view, guiding their son become a "UK sophisticate" will result in success and create opportunities.
"For all the pros and cons of that, because it's definitely a status symbol," he notes.
Yet, in spite of all this guidance in "Britishness", might the child adopt alleged cultural bias from the multicultural family he is raised by in any case?
"Certainly", said he. "They realize this might not succeed, but they've merely embraced the perspective of, 'why not attempt it and we'll proceed as soon as we can', because the cost of it is irrelevant," he explained.
Impractical
There are some in the education sector who express those doubts.
Peter Cui, chief executive of a tutoring service, who also offer personal educators, stated that "the process of adopting dual cultures, or in fact, discovering oneself, is something that must be experienced personally, not engineered."
The expert wrote that he had moved from China to the UK at the time of seven, and had been educated understanding and living both cultures. He progressed to study at the University of Cambridge.
"The idea that one individual can function as a embodiment of UK identity, someone who can possibly transfer the attributes of a British gentleman onto a 12-month-old child, appears idealistic and unfeasible," he commented.
"Based on my background, engaging a quintessentially UK tutor from early childhood will will not automatically create the outcome they desire.
"I did not have such a figure, and nevertheless I have been fortunate enough to live several of the experiences they aspire for their son."
He stated: "The fact is, self-identity should not be imposed from the outside; it must be selected, and it must originate internally."
Purchasing UK Culture
Naturally, English culture is something the expert hopes can be educated – and commercialized.
"In my view the situation that the international society holds us in this respect is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
