"Parents residing in north London is looking for an exceptional and skilled tutor to support their smallest child on his first steps to becoming an English gentleman."
Upon seeing this advertisement, you might easily skip the phrase "first-steps" as simple a turn of phrase.
But, it may be the most significant part of this unique position posting, as it aims to find a tutor for a one-year-old.
Numerous of submissions have now been received since the unnamed family posted their request for the £180,000 per year tutor, who has to be "an exceptional individual".
Over the last few weeks, the advert has received notice throughout the media, with several questioning why?
Forward-Thinking Method
The CEO, chief executive of Tutors International, which is supporting the family in their quest, said that in spite of early doubt, he considered the plan "visionary", and "progressive".
When he consulted the family, he mentioned they understood the atypical aspect of their request, and how young their son is.
However, they stated that they "didn't want to wait any longer" to get a tutor, as they had held off until their elder sibling was five, and by that point "cultural bias had already taken hold".
But what does the family mean by "cultural bias"?
It's "comprehensive", he responded. "The way you eat, the way you speak".
He explained the elder child had absorbed "very nuanced, body language" from the family, and had assumed their cultural ways. The family informed him they wished to avoid this pattern to repeat itself with their new baby.
The intention: To engage a British tutor, who needs to speak with standard English accent, to shape the baby from day one.
Subtle Influence
"A lot of the learning at the outset here is kind of acquired indirectly," said the expert.
It's through this subtle influence that the family are expecting the child will adopt the English characteristics they want to cultivate.
The consultant said the tutor must be somebody who studied at "the appropriate educational institutions – similar types of schools as the family plan to send their son to".
"The instructor just has to be the suitable individual, they'll be carrying out things they don't even know they're doing, just naturally," he commented.
Money No Object
The family informed him the successful candidate should ideally also have understanding of or enthusiasm in horse riding, alpine skiing, the arts and musical activities so as to influence the child in a wide range of hobbies.
Additionally though, he said the family hoped the tutor to sign up the child on a range of classes so the child would be "horseback riding and learning an tool by the time they are approximately three years old".
In the family's perspective, helping their son grow into a "British gentleman" will lead to achievement and open doors.
"For all the pros and cons of that, because it's definitely a status symbol," he adds.
But, in spite of all this tutelage in "Britishness", would the child adopt so-called cultural bias from the multicultural family he lives with in any case?
"Certainly", replied the CEO. "The family understand this might not succeed, but they've just taken the view of, 'we should try and we should start as early as we can', because the cost of it is irrelevant," he stated.
Impractical
There are some in the tutoring industry who have those concerns.
An education leader, chief executive of Blue Education, who also offer personal educators, stated that "the process of adopting dual cultures, or in fact, discovering oneself, is something that must be lived into, not engineered."
The expert explained that he had emigrated from China to the United Kingdom at the period of seven, and had been brought up experiencing and living both cultures. He progressed to learn at the University of Cambridge.
"The concept that an individual can act as a embodiment of English culture, an individual who can in some way impart the characteristics of a English gentleman onto a one-year-old child, appears idealistic and unfeasible," he wrote.
"From my perspective, employing a quintessentially UK tutor from babyhood will will not necessarily achieve the outcome they hope for.
"I wasn't provided with that kind of mentor, and nevertheless I have been privileged enough to enjoy many of the situations they hope for their son."
He added: "The truth is, self-identity should not be dictated from the external environment; it must be embraced, and it must be internally driven."
Purchasing UK Culture
Of course, Britishness is something the expert thinks can be educated – and marketed.
"I believe the fact that the global community regards us in this regard is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
