"A family based in the northern part of London seeks an exceptional and qualified educator to guide their smallest child on his initial journey to growing into an English gentleman."
Upon seeing this listing, you might naturally skip the phrase "initial stages" as mere an expression.
However, it could be the most important element of this unusual position posting, as it seeks to hire a teacher for a infant.
Hundreds of responses have now been sent in since the anonymous family advertised their search for the £180,000 per year tutor, who must be "an exceptional individual".
During the past few weeks, the post has gained interest throughout the press, with numerous asking why?
Progressive Approach
A tutoring expert, chief executive of a global tutoring firm, which is supporting the family in their search, stated that notwithstanding early doubt, he found the idea "visionary", and "progressive".
When he spoke with the family, he mentioned they recognized the unusual character of their demand, and how young their son is.
But, they clarified that they "preferred not to postpone any longer" to hire a tutor, as they had waited until their firstborn was five, and by that stage "cultural influence had already set in".
What exactly did the family mean by "cultural bias"?
It's "all-encompassing", the expert replied. "The manner you eat, the manner you speak".
He stated the elder child had adopted "extremely delicate, non-verbal cues" from the family, and had taken on their cultural ways. The family told the consultant they did not want the same situation to recur with their younger child.
The intention: To engage a British tutor, who needs to speak with RP, to shape the baby right from the beginning.
Natural Absorption
"Much of the learning at the outset here is rather absorbed naturally," said the expert.
It's through this osmosis that the family are expecting the child will pick up the English characteristics they aim to impart.
The consultant explained the tutor must be an individual who studied at "the right kinds of schools – similar types of schools as the family plan to send their son to".
"The tutor simply needs to be the right kind of person, they'll be doing things they aren't even aware they're doing, just naturally," he added.
Cost Not Relevant
The family told the expert the chosen tutor should ideally also have understanding of or interest in riding, skiing, the arts and instrumental training so as to inspire the child in a diverse set of hobbies.
More than that though, he stated the family hoped the tutor to enrol the child on a selection of lessons so the child would be "horseback riding and picking up an musical instrument by the time they are around three years old".
In the family's perspective, guiding their son become a "UK sophisticate" will lead to success and create opportunities.
"Considering the advantages and disadvantages of that, because it's certainly a status symbol," he notes.
However, notwithstanding all this guidance in "Britishness", would the child adopt what is termed cultural influence from the multicultural family he resides with regardless?
"Absolutely", answered the CEO. "The parents understand this may not work, but they've merely embraced the attitude of, 'we should try and we should start as early as we can', because the expense of it is irrelevant," he said.
Overly Optimistic
There are some in the education sector who have similar reservations.
Another CEO, chief executive of an educational organization, who also offer individual instructors, stated that "the journey of embracing two identities, or in fact, forming one's identity, is something that must be grown into, not engineered."
He noted that he had relocated from the Far East to the United Kingdom at the age of childhood, and had been brought up understanding and living two backgrounds. He went on to study at the University of Cambridge.
"The concept that an individual can serve as a representation of English culture, an individual who can in some way transfer the characteristics of a UK sophisticate onto a infant child, strikes me as idealistic and unrealistic," he wrote.
"From my perspective, having a distinctly English tutor from early childhood will not instantly produce the result they desire.
"I wasn't provided with such a figure, and yet I have been privileged enough to live several of the situations they desire for their son."
He continued: "The reality is, self-identity can not be imposed from the outside; it must be selected, and it must come from within."
Buying Britishness
Naturally, UK identity is something the expert thinks can be instructed – and sold.
"In my view the situation that the world regards us in this respect is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
