"Parents residing in North London wants to find an remarkable and experienced instructor to support their most junior child on his first steps to growing into an British gentleman."
Upon seeing this listing, you might naturally overlook the phrase "first-steps" as mere a turn of phrase.
But, it may be the crucial part of this unusual job advert, as it seeks to hire a tutor for a 12-month-old.
Hundreds of applications have since been sent in since the anonymous family posted their request for the £180,000 per year tutor, who must be "someone very special".
In recent few weeks, the advert has attracted notice in the news, with many asking why?
Progressive Approach
Adam Caller, CEO and founder of Tutors International, which is supporting the family in their quest, stated that in spite of initial skepticism, he viewed the idea "forward-looking", and "advanced".
When he consulted the family, he mentioned they recognized the unusual character of their request, and how young their son is.
Nevertheless, they clarified that they "preferred not to postpone any longer" to get a tutor, as they had held off until their older child was five, and by that stage "cultural bias had by then taken hold".
What exactly does the family mean by "cultural predisposition"?
It's "everything", he replied. "The way you eat, the way you speak".
He stated the firstborn had absorbed "extremely delicate, unspoken signals" from the family, and had taken on their cultural habits. The family explained to Adam they wished to avoid the same situation to recur with their infant.
The strategy: To hire a English tutor, who should speak with standard English accent, to guide the baby from the very start.
Subtle Influence
"A lot of the development at the beginning here is somewhat absorbed naturally," explained the CEO.
It's via this subtle influence that the family are expecting the child will adopt the British traits they wish to instil.
He said the tutor must be an individual who studied at "the appropriate educational institutions – similar types of schools as the family aspire to send their son to".
"The educator must be the right kind of person, they'll be performing things they don't even know they're doing, simply by nature," he added.
Expense Not a Factor
The family explained to Adam the successful candidate should preferably also have understanding of or passion in equestrian activities, winter sports, the arts and musical activities so as to inspire the child in a broad spectrum of hobbies.
More than that though, he explained the family hoped the tutor to sign up the child on a range of lessons so the child would be "horseback riding and picking up an instrument by the time they are around three years old".
In the family's view, guiding their son develop into a "British gentleman" will lead to success and provide access.
"Taking into account the rights and wrongs of that, because it's definitely a social class indicator," he notes.
Yet, despite all this tutelage in "UK identity", could the child pick up what is termed cultural leaning from the international family he lives with in any case?
"Absolutely", answered he. "The parents realize this may not work, but they've merely embraced the view of, 'why not attempt it and we should start as soon as we can', because the price of it is irrelevant," he explained.
Overly Optimistic
Several in the private teaching field who have those doubts.
An education leader, CEO and founder of an educational organization, who supplies individual instructors, stated that "the development of embracing two identities, or actually, forming one's identity, is something that must be experienced personally, not manufactured."
He wrote that he had emigrated from the Far East to the United Kingdom at the age of 7 years old, and had been raised knowing and embodying two backgrounds. He went on to learn at Cambridge University.
"The idea that a single person can act as a living vessel of Britishness, an individual who can somehow transfer the characteristics of a English gentleman to a 12-month-old child, strikes me as idealistic and unrealistic," he commented.
"In my experience, engaging a distinctly UK tutor from early childhood will not instantly achieve the goal they want.
"I never had such a figure, and nevertheless I have been privileged enough to enjoy many of the opportunities they hope for their son."
He stated: "The fact is, cultural identity can not be dictated from the external environment; it must be embraced, and it must come from within."
Buying Britishness
Of course, UK identity is something the CEO believes can be instructed – and sold.
"In my view the fact that the world regards us in this respect is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
