"Parents based in north London wants to find an exceptional and skilled instructor to support their smallest child on his initial journey to turning into an British gentleman."
Looking at this advertisement, you might naturally miss the wording "initial stages" as mere figurative language.
However, it might be the most important part of this unusual job advert, as it seeks to hire a teacher for a 12-month-old.
Many of submissions have now been submitted since the unidentified family posted their call for the highly paid tutor, who has to be "a uniquely qualified person".
In recent few weeks, the post has received notice in the press, with many wondering why?
Progressive Approach
A tutoring expert, head and founder of a global tutoring firm, which is assisting the family in their search, stated that despite initial skepticism, he considered the idea "forward-looking", and "advanced".
When he consulted the family, he noted they understood the atypical character of their demand, and how young their son is.
Nevertheless, they clarified that they "didn't want to wait any longer" to get a tutor, as they had held off until their firstborn was five, and by that age "cultural conditioning had already set in".
But what did the family mean by "cultural bias"?
It's "all-encompassing", he replied. "The manner you eat, how you speak".
He stated the firstborn had adopted "really subtle, unspoken signals" from the family, and had taken on their cultural ways. The family told Adam they did not want history to recur with their new baby.
The plan: To engage a British tutor, who must speak with standard English accent, to influence the baby from the very start.
Natural Absorption
"A lot of the education at the start here is somewhat absorbed naturally," explained Adam.
It's via this subtle influence that the family are hoping the child will adopt the UK customs they wish to impart.
He explained the tutor had to be an individual who went to "the appropriate educational institutions – the same kinds of schools as the family aspire to send their son to".
"The educator just has to be the right kind of person, they'll be performing things they aren't even aware they're doing, simply by nature," he commented.
Expense Not a Factor
The family told him the successful candidate should ideally also have understanding of or enthusiasm in equestrian activities, winter sports, the arts and instrumental training so as to influence the child in a diverse set of passions.
More than that though, he explained the family wanted the tutor to enrol the child on a variety 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 perspective, guiding their son grow into a "English gentleman" will lead to success and open doors.
"Considering the pros and cons of that, because it's definitely a class statement," he notes.
But, notwithstanding all this tutelage in "English culture", would the child absorb alleged cultural leaning from the globally influenced family he is raised by anyway?
"Absolutely", said he. "They understand this could fail, but they've merely embraced the attitude of, 'let's give it a go and let's go as soon as we can', because the cost of it is irrelevant," he said.
Idealistic and Unrealistic
There are some in the tutoring industry who have those reservations.
Another CEO, head and founder of a tutoring service, who provides private tutors, wrote that "the journey of adopting dual cultures, or in fact, discovering oneself, is something that must be experienced personally, not engineered."
Peter wrote that he had relocated from the Far East to the United Kingdom at the period of seven, and had been raised understanding and practicing both cultures. He went on to study at Cambridge University.
"The concept that one individual can serve as a embodiment of Britishness, an individual who can possibly transplant the qualities of a English gentleman upon a infant child, strikes me as idealistic and unfeasible," he commented.
"In my experience, engaging a typically English tutor from infancy will not automatically achieve the result they desire.
"I did not have that kind of mentor, and nevertheless I have been fortunate enough to live several of the experiences they hope for their son."
He continued: "The fact is, self-identity should not be imposed from the outside; it must be chosen, and it must be internally driven."
Buying Britishness
Of course, Britishness is something the CEO thinks can be taught – and sold.
"I think the reality that the international society views us in this respect is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
