"A family located in north London is looking for an exceptional and experienced instructor to support their most junior child on his first steps to turning into an English gentleman."
Upon seeing this post, you might naturally skip the wording "initial stages" as just figurative language.
Yet, it could be the most significant aspect of this unusual job advert, as it seeks to hire a tutor for a 12-month-old.
Numerous of applications have since been received since the unnamed family advertised their request for the £180,000 per year tutor, who must be "an exceptional individual".
During the past few weeks, the post has attracted interest in the news, with numerous asking why?
Innovative Idea
A tutoring expert, chief executive of an education consultancy, which is supporting the family in their search, said that despite first scepticism, he found the idea "visionary", and "innovative".
When he met the family, he noted they recognized the unusual nature of their request, and how immature their son is.
Nevertheless, they stated that they "didn't want to wait any longer" to hire a tutor, as they had held off until their elder sibling was five, and by that stage "cultural bias had by then set in".
What precisely does the family refer to by "cultural bias"?
It's "comprehensive", the expert answered. "The manner you eat, the manner you speak".
He explained the older sibling had adopted "very nuanced, unspoken signals" from the family, and had adopted their cultural norms. The family told the consultant they did not want history to recur with their younger child.
The strategy: To hire a English tutor, who must speak with RP, to influence the baby from the very start.
Subtle Influence
"A lot of the learning at the outset here is kind of absorbed naturally," said the CEO.
It's through this osmosis that the family are hoping the child will acquire the English characteristics they aim to impart.
The consultant explained the tutor must be an individual who attended "the right kinds of schools – the same kinds of schools as the family hope to send their son to".
"The instructor must be the appropriate candidate, they'll be doing things they don't even know they're doing, just naturally," he said.
Cost Not Relevant
The family explained to the expert the successful candidate should preferably also have understanding of or interest in horse riding, skiing, artistic pursuits and music so as to influence the child in a broad spectrum of passions.
Additionally though, he stated the family wanted the tutor to enrol the child on a variety of courses so the child would be "horseback riding and picking up an tool by the time they are approximately three years old".
In the family's view, helping their son become a "English gentleman" will result in achievement and create opportunities.
"For all the advantages and disadvantages of that, because it's undoubtedly a class statement," he notes.
But, notwithstanding all this tutelage in "Britishness", might the child pick up alleged cultural bias from the globally influenced family he lives with in any case?
"Certainly", replied the CEO. "The parents understand this could fail, but they've just taken the attitude of, 'we should try and we should start as quickly as we can', because the price of it is not a concern," he stated.
Impractical
There are some in the education sector who express those concerns.
An education leader, chief executive of a tutoring service, who also offer private tutors, commented that "the journey of embracing two identities, or actually, forming one's identity, is something that must be experienced personally, not engineered."
The expert noted that he had relocated from Asia to the United Kingdom at the time of 7 years old, and had been brought up experiencing and practicing dual heritages. He went on to study at the University of Cambridge.
"The concept that one individual can function as a living vessel of English culture, a person who can possibly transplant the characteristics of a English gentleman to a one-year-old child, appears optimistic and impractical," he stated.
"Based on my background, engaging a typically English tutor from early childhood will not necessarily achieve the outcome they hope for.
"I wasn't provided with such a figure, and however I have been fortunate enough to enjoy many of the opportunities they desire for their son."
He stated: "The fact is, self-identity should not be forced from the outside; it must be embraced, and it must come from within."
Buying Britishness
Naturally, English culture is something the CEO hopes can be educated – and sold.
"I believe the situation that the international society views us in this respect is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
