"A household based in north London seeks an extraordinary and qualified educator to guide their smallest child on his initial journey to becoming an English gentleman."
Looking at this post, you might readily overlook the wording "beginning" as just a turn of phrase.
However, it may be the most significant element of this unique job advert, as it seeks to recruit a teacher for a infant.
Hundreds of submissions have now been sent in since the unidentified family posted their search for the £180k-a-year tutor, who has to be "a uniquely qualified person".
Over the last few weeks, the advert has attracted notice in the news, with several questioning why?
Forward-Thinking Method
Adam Caller, CEO and founder of a global tutoring firm, which is assisting the family in their hunt, explained that in spite of initial scepticism, he considered the idea "far sighted", and "advanced".
When he consulted the family, he said they recognized the unconventional character of their demand, and how early in age their son is.
Nevertheless, they clarified that they "preferred not to postpone any longer" to engage a tutor, as they had held off until their elder sibling was five, and by that stage "cultural conditioning had already set in".
What exactly does the family indicate by "cultural leaning"?
It's "all-encompassing", the expert replied. "The manner you eat, the way you speak".
He said the older sibling had picked up "really subtle, non-verbal cues" from the family, and had assumed their cultural habits. The family informed him they hoped to prevent history to happen again with their new baby.
The intention: To bring in a UK tutor, who needs to speak with RP, to influence the baby from the very start.
Osmotic Learning
"A great deal of the development at the beginning here is rather acquired indirectly," said the expert.
It's via this subtle influence that the family are aiming the child will acquire the English characteristics they want to impart.
Adam noted the tutor must be someone who went to "the appropriate educational institutions – the same kinds of schools as the family plan to send their son to".
"The educator simply needs to be the right kind of person, they'll be carrying out things they aren't even aware they're doing, simply by nature," he added.
Money No Object
The family explained to the expert the selected educator should ideally also have understanding of or enthusiasm in riding, skiing, the arts and music so as to shape the child in a broad spectrum of interests.
Additionally though, he stated the family hoped the tutor to sign up the child on a variety of lessons so the child would be "horseback riding and starting an musical instrument by the time they are about three years old".
In the family's minds, guiding their son develop into a "UK sophisticate" will result in achievement and provide access.
"Considering the pros and cons of that, because it's definitely a class statement," he notes.
However, despite all this guidance in "Britishness", would the child absorb so-called cultural influence from the international family he resides with regardless?
"Yes", replied the CEO. "They understand this may not work, but they've merely embraced the view of, 'why not attempt it and we'll proceed as early as we can', because the expense of it is not relevant," he said.
Overly Optimistic
A number of in the tutoring industry who express those reservations.
Peter Cui, chief executive of Blue Education, who also offer private tutors, wrote that "the journey of embracing two identities, or indeed, discovering oneself, is something that must be experienced personally, not engineered."
He explained that he had moved from China to the United Kingdom at the time of 7 years old, and had been raised knowing and practicing dual heritages. He continued to be educated at the University of Cambridge.
"The concept that a single person can serve as a embodiment of Britishness, an individual who can possibly transfer the attributes of a UK sophisticate onto a one-year-old child, appears optimistic and unrealistic," he stated.
"In my experience, engaging a distinctly UK tutor from infancy will not necessarily achieve the outcome they hope for.
"I did not have that kind of mentor, and nevertheless I have been privileged enough to experience many of the experiences they hope for their son."
He stated: "The fact is, personal identity should not be imposed from the external environment; it must be chosen, and it must come from within."
Acquiring Englishness
Of course, English culture is something the CEO hopes can be instructed – and marketed.
"In my view the situation that the global community holds us in this light is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
