"Parents located in North London wants to find an extraordinary and skilled educator to support their most junior child on his first steps to growing into an British gentleman."
Looking at this advertisement, you might readily skip the wording "first-steps" as just figurative language.
But, it may be the most significant element of this distinctive position posting, as it aims to find a mentor for a infant.
Hundreds of applications have already been submitted since the anonymous family posted their call for the £180,000 per year tutor, who must be "someone very special".
During the past few weeks, the post has attracted interest in the news, with many questioning why?
Forward-Thinking Method
A tutoring expert, chief executive of a global tutoring firm, which is assisting the family in their quest, said that despite initial doubt, he found the plan "visionary", and "innovative".
When he spoke with the family, he mentioned they appreciated the unusual nature of their requirement, and how early in age their son is.
But, they clarified that they "were unwilling to delay any longer" to engage a tutor, as they had waited until their elder sibling was five, and by that stage "cultural bias had already taken hold".
What exactly does the family indicate by "cultural bias"?
It's "comprehensive", the expert replied. "The manner you eat, the manner you speak".
He explained the firstborn had absorbed "extremely delicate, unspoken signals" from the family, and had assumed their cultural habits. The family told the consultant they hoped to prevent the same situation to happen again with their younger child.
The plan: To bring in a British tutor, who should speak with Received Pronunciation, to guide the baby right from the beginning.
Natural Absorption
"Much of the development at the start here is kind of osmotic," stated Adam.
It's through this natural absorption that the family are hoping the child will adopt the UK customs they wish to instil.
The consultant said the tutor must be somebody who attended "prestigious academies – similar types of schools as the family plan to send their son to".
"The educator simply needs to be the right kind of person, they'll be carrying out things they may not realize they're doing, just naturally," he said.
Cost Not Relevant
The family told Adam the chosen tutor should ideally also have familiarity of or passion in horse riding, alpine 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 variety of classes so the child would be "pony-riding and picking up an instrument by the time they are about three years old".
In the family's perspective, assisting their son grow into a "UK sophisticate" will bring about achievement and create opportunities.
"Taking into account the pros and cons of that, because it's undoubtedly a status symbol," he comments.
Yet, despite all this guidance in "Britishness", might the child absorb what is termed cultural influence from the multicultural family he is raised by regardless?
"Certainly", answered Adam. "They know this might not succeed, but they've merely embraced the perspective of, 'let's give it a go and we'll proceed as early as we can', because the price of it is not relevant," he said.
Idealistic and Unrealistic
A number of in the private teaching field who have these concerns.
Another CEO, head and founder of Blue Education, who also offer private tutors, commented that "the development of becoming bicultural, or in fact, discovering oneself, is something that must be experienced personally, not designed."
Peter explained that he had moved from the Far East to the UK at the age of 7 years old, and had been brought up understanding and embodying dual heritages. He went on to learn at the University of Cambridge.
"The idea that one individual can function as a living vessel of Britishness, a person who can possibly transfer the attributes of a UK sophisticate upon a one-year-old child, strikes me as naive and unrealistic," he wrote.
"From my perspective, engaging a distinctly British tutor from babyhood will will not instantly achieve the goal they desire.
"I wasn't provided with that kind of mentor, and however I have been privileged enough to experience numerous of the situations they desire for their son."
He added: "The reality is, personal identity should not be forced from the outside influences; it must be chosen, and it must come from within."
Buying Britishness
Of course, Britishness is something the expert thinks can be taught – and marketed.
"In my view the reality that the world views us in this respect is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
