"Parents based in north London wants to find an extraordinary and qualified instructor to support their smallest child on his initial journey to growing into an British gentleman."
Upon seeing this post, you might easily skip the wording "initial stages" as just an expression.
Yet, it could be the most significant element of this distinctive position posting, as it attempts to recruit a mentor for a infant.
Many of applications have since been submitted since the unidentified family posted their request for the £180,000 per year tutor, who must be "a uniquely qualified person".
Over the last few weeks, the listing has attracted attention across the media, with many wondering why?
Forward-Thinking Method
Adam Caller, CEO and founder of an education consultancy, which is assisting the family in their hunt, stated that notwithstanding initial doubt, he considered the concept "far sighted", and "innovative".
When he spoke with the family, he noted they recognized the atypical character of their requirement, and how young their son is.
However, they stated that they "were unwilling to delay any longer" to get a tutor, as they had postponed until their firstborn was five, and by that point "cultural conditioning had already become established".
But what did the family refer to by "cultural leaning"?
It's "everything", Adam responded. "How you eat, the way you speak".
He said the firstborn had adopted "really subtle, non-verbal cues" from the family, and had assumed their cultural habits. The family explained to him they did not want history 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 the very start.
Subtle Influence
"Much of the development at the beginning here is somewhat acquired indirectly," stated the expert.
It's by means of this osmosis that the family are aiming the child will pick up the British traits they aim to cultivate.
He said the tutor needed to be someone who went to "prestigious academies – comparable categories of schools as the family plan to send their son to".
"The tutor must be the suitable individual, they'll be carrying out things they don't even know they're doing, effortlessly," he added.
Expense Not a Factor
The family told the expert the selected educator should ideally also have familiarity of or interest in equestrian activities, alpine skiing, the arts and musical activities so as to influence the child in a wide range of hobbies.
Furthermore though, he stated the family desired the tutor to enrol the child on a range of lessons so the child would be "horseback riding and learning an musical instrument by the time they are approximately three years old".
In the family's perspective, assisting their son grow into a "UK sophisticate" will lead to accomplishment and open doors.
"For all the advantages and disadvantages of that, because it's definitely a class statement," he adds.
But, notwithstanding all this guidance in "UK identity", could the child pick up so-called cultural influence from the international family he lives with anyway?
"Certainly", answered Adam. "The parents understand this might not succeed, but they've merely embraced the view of, 'let's give it a go and we should start as soon as we can', because the price of it is not relevant," he stated.
Idealistic and Unrealistic
Several in the tutoring industry who share similar doubts.
Peter Cui, chief executive of Blue Education, who also offer private tutors, wrote that "the development of becoming bicultural, or in fact, discovering oneself, is something that must be lived into, not designed."
He explained that he had relocated from the Far East to the Britain at the period of seven, and had been brought up knowing and practicing dual heritages. He went on to learn at a prestigious UK institution.
"The idea that a single person can act as a embodiment of Britishness, a person who can in some way transfer the characteristics of a English gentleman onto a infant child, seems to me optimistic and impractical," he wrote.
"In my experience, employing a typically British tutor from babyhood will not necessarily produce the outcome they hope for.
"I never had that kind of mentor, and nevertheless I have been privileged enough to live many of the opportunities they aspire for their son."
He stated: "The reality is, personal identity should not be dictated from the outside influences; it must be chosen, and it must come from within."
Buying Britishness
Of course, UK identity is something the CEO thinks can be taught – and marketed.
"I think the reality that the global community views us in this regard is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
