"A family based in north London is looking for an remarkable and skilled instructor to guide their most junior child on his first steps to turning into an British gentleman."
Upon seeing this listing, you might naturally miss the phrase "first-steps" as just a turn of phrase.
However, it could be the most significant aspect of this distinctive position posting, as it seeks to hire a teacher for a one-year-old.
Hundreds of applications have now been submitted since the anonymous family advertised their request for the £180k-a-year tutor, who needs to be "someone very special".
Over the last few weeks, the listing has gained attention across the news, with several asking why?
Innovative Idea
Adam Caller, chief executive of an education consultancy, which is supporting the family in their quest, said that despite initial scepticism, he found the idea "forward-looking", and "advanced".
When he met the family, he said they appreciated the atypical aspect of their request, and how early in age their son is.
Nevertheless, they explained that they "didn't want to wait any longer" to hire a tutor, as they had held off until their firstborn was five, and by that stage "cultural influence had by then taken hold".
What precisely did the family mean by "cultural leaning"?
It's "everything", the expert replied. "How you eat, how you speak".
He said the elder child had picked up "really subtle, unspoken signals" from the family, and had taken on their cultural habits. The family explained to the consultant they did not want this pattern to repeat itself with their new baby.
The strategy: To bring in a English tutor, who needs to speak with standard English accent, to guide the baby from day one.
Subtle Influence
"A great deal of the development at the outset here is rather absorbed naturally," stated the expert.
It's through this osmosis that the family are expecting the child will pick up the English characteristics they aim to cultivate.
The consultant said the tutor had to be an individual who went to "the appropriate educational institutions – the same kinds 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 don't even know they're doing, simply by nature," he said.
Cost Not Relevant
The family informed Adam the successful candidate should ideally also have knowledge of or passion in horse riding, skiing, creative fields and musical activities so as to inspire the child in a diverse set of passions.
Additionally though, he said the family wanted the tutor to enrol the child on a range of classes so the child would be "pony-riding and starting an tool by the time they are around three years old".
In the family's view, guiding their son develop into a "UK sophisticate" will result in success and open doors.
"For all the pros and cons of that, because it's certainly a status symbol," he adds.
However, notwithstanding all this guidance in "English culture", could the child adopt what is termed cultural influence from the globally influenced family he is raised by regardless?
"Certainly", replied Adam. "The family realize this could fail, but they've simply adopted the view of, 'we should try and we'll proceed as quickly as we can', because the expense of it is not a concern," he stated.
Overly Optimistic
A number of in the education sector who share these reservations.
Peter Cui, CEO and founder of an educational organization, who supplies individual instructors, wrote that "the journey of becoming bicultural, or actually, forming one's identity, is something that must be lived into, not manufactured."
The expert explained that he had emigrated from China to the Britain at the age of 7 years old, and had been educated experiencing and embodying dual heritages. He went on to study at Cambridge University.
"The notion that an individual can function as a embodiment of English culture, a person who can in some way impart the attributes of a English gentleman onto a infant child, strikes me as idealistic and impractical," he wrote.
"Based on my background, having a typically UK tutor from infancy will will not instantly produce the result they desire.
"I wasn't provided with such a tutor, and however I have been fortunate enough to enjoy numerous of the situations they hope for their son."
He stated: "The reality is, personal identity cannot be forced from the outside influences; it must be chosen, and it must originate internally."
Buying Britishness
Of course, UK identity is something Adam hopes can be taught – and commercialized.
"I believe the fact that the world regards us in this regard is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
