"A family based in North London wants to find an remarkable and qualified instructor to assist their most junior child on his initial journey to turning into an British gentleman."
Looking at this post, you might naturally overlook the wording "initial stages" as simple figurative language.
Yet, it might be the most significant element of this unique job advert, as it aims to find a tutor for a 12-month-old.
Hundreds of submissions have already been received since the anonymous family posted their search for the highly paid tutor, who needs to be "a uniquely qualified person".
In recent few weeks, the advert has attracted notice in the news, with numerous wondering why?
Forward-Thinking Method
Adam Caller, chief executive of an education consultancy, which is helping the family in their quest, explained that in spite of early doubt, he viewed the idea "forward-looking", and "advanced".
When he consulted the family, he said they recognized the unconventional nature of their demand, and how young their son is.
Nevertheless, they stated that they "were unwilling to delay any longer" to engage a tutor, as they had postponed until their elder sibling was five, and by that point "cultural bias had already taken hold".
But what does the family indicate by "cultural predisposition"?
It's "comprehensive", Adam answered. "How you eat, how you speak".
He said the elder child had absorbed "really subtle, body language" from the family, and had adopted their cultural ways. The family informed Adam they hoped to prevent this pattern to repeat itself with their infant.
The plan: To bring in a UK tutor, who should speak with standard English accent, to guide the baby from the very start.
Natural Absorption
"Much of the learning at the beginning here is kind of osmotic," stated Adam.
It's via this subtle influence that the family are aiming the child will acquire the UK customs they aim to impart.
He noted the tutor must be somebody who went to "the right kinds of schools – 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 doing things they may not realize they're doing, effortlessly," he commented.
Money No Object
The family explained to him the successful candidate should ideally also have familiarity of or interest in equestrian activities, alpine skiing, artistic pursuits and musical activities so as to inspire the child in a wide range of passions.
More than that though, he said the family wanted the tutor to register the child on a range of lessons so the child would be "pony-riding and starting an musical instrument by the time they are around three years old".
In the family's view, assisting their son become a "British gentleman" will bring about accomplishment and provide access.
"For all the advantages and disadvantages of that, because it's definitely a status symbol," he comments.
Yet, notwithstanding all this tutelage in "UK identity", could the child adopt what is termed cultural bias from the international family he lives with regardless?
"Certainly", replied he. "They know this could fail, but they've simply adopted the perspective of, 'we should try and we'll proceed as quickly as we can', because the cost of it is not relevant," he stated.
Overly Optimistic
There are some in the tutoring industry who express these doubts.
Peter Cui, CEO and founder of an educational organization, who also offer personal educators, stated that "the process of becoming bicultural, or in fact, discovering oneself, is something that must be lived into, not manufactured."
Peter wrote that he had moved from the Far East to the United Kingdom at the time of childhood, and had been educated experiencing and living two backgrounds. He went on to learn at the University of Cambridge.
"The notion that one individual can act as a representation of UK identity, an individual who can possibly transplant the characteristics of a British gentleman onto a one-year-old child, strikes me as naive and impractical," he stated.
"From my perspective, employing a distinctly British tutor from early childhood will not necessarily achieve the result they desire.
"I never had that kind of mentor, and nevertheless I have been lucky enough to live many of the opportunities they desire for their son."
He continued: "The reality is, cultural identity can not be forced from the outside; it must be selected, and it must come from within."
Buying Britishness
Of course, UK identity is something the expert believes can be instructed – and sold.
"In my view the situation that the world views us in this respect is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
