"Parents located in north London seeks an remarkable and skilled instructor to assist their most junior child on his first steps to growing into an English gentleman."
When reading this advertisement, you might naturally skip the phrase "first-steps" as just figurative language.
But, it may be the most important part of this distinctive position posting, as it seeks to find a mentor for a 12-month-old.
Many of submissions have now been sent in since the anonymous family published their request for the £180k-a-year tutor, who needs to be "an exceptional individual".
In recent few weeks, the listing has received interest in the press, with numerous wondering why?
Forward-Thinking Method
Adam Caller, head and founder of Tutors International, which is helping the family in their quest, stated that in spite of initial skepticism, he found the plan "visionary", and "advanced".
When he consulted the family, he mentioned they appreciated the unconventional aspect of their requirement, and how early in age their son is.
However, they stated that they "were unwilling to delay any longer" to engage a tutor, as they had waited until their elder sibling was five, and by that stage "cultural conditioning had by then become established".
What exactly does the family indicate by "cultural bias"?
It's "all-encompassing", Adam answered. "The way you eat, the way you speak".
He explained the older sibling had absorbed "extremely delicate, non-verbal cues" from the family, and had assumed their cultural norms. The family told Adam they hoped to prevent history to repeat itself with their younger child.
The plan: To hire a English tutor, who should speak with standard English accent, to influence the baby right from the beginning.
Osmotic Learning
"Much of the development at the start here is kind of acquired indirectly," explained the expert.
It's via this subtle influence that the family are aiming the child will adopt the English characteristics they wish to cultivate.
Adam explained the tutor needed to be someone who attended "the right kinds of schools – the same kinds of schools as the family plan to send their son to".
"The instructor must be the suitable individual, they'll be doing things they may not realize they're doing, effortlessly," he said.
Money No Object
The family told Adam the successful candidate should preferably also have familiarity of or interest in horse riding, winter sports, creative fields and musical activities so as to inspire the child in a diverse set of passions.
Additionally though, he explained the family desired the tutor to register the child on a variety of classes so the child would be "pony-riding and picking up an instrument by the time they are around three years old".
In the family's minds, assisting their son develop into a "British gentleman" will result in accomplishment and provide access.
"Taking into account the advantages and disadvantages of that, because it's undoubtedly a status symbol," he comments.
However, despite all this instruction in "UK identity", might the child adopt so-called cultural influence from the multicultural family he is raised by regardless?
"Absolutely", replied Adam. "The parents understand this could fail, but they've just taken the perspective of, 'we should try and we'll proceed as early as we can', because the cost of it is not relevant," he explained.
Overly Optimistic
There are some in the tutoring industry who share those reservations.
Another CEO, head and founder of Blue Education, who also offer private tutors, stated that "the development of becoming bicultural, or indeed, becoming oneself, is something that must be lived into, not manufactured."
He wrote that he had moved from China to the UK at the age of childhood, and had been educated experiencing and living both cultures. He progressed to be educated at a prestigious UK institution.
"The idea that an individual can act as a embodiment of UK identity, an individual who can somehow transfer the qualities of a British gentleman to a one-year-old child, strikes me as naive and unfeasible," he commented.
"From my perspective, engaging a quintessentially UK tutor from early childhood will does not necessarily achieve the goal they hope for.
"I never had that kind of mentor, and nevertheless I have been fortunate enough to experience numerous of the situations they hope for their son."
He continued: "The reality is, cultural identity cannot be dictated from the outside; it must be selected, and it must come from within."
Acquiring Englishness
Naturally, UK identity is something Adam believes can be instructed – and marketed.
"In my view the reality that the world views us in this regard is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
