"A family based in north London is looking for an remarkable and experienced tutor to guide their most junior child on his first steps to becoming an British gentleman."
Upon seeing this listing, you might naturally skip the phrase "first-steps" as just a turn of phrase.
But, it could be the most important part of this distinctive position posting, as it attempts to find a teacher for a 12-month-old.
Hundreds of submissions have since been sent in since the unnamed family advertised their request for the £180,000 per year tutor, who must be "a uniquely qualified person".
In recent few weeks, the post has gained attention throughout the news, with several asking why?
Forward-Thinking Method
Adam Caller, CEO and founder of a global tutoring firm, which is helping the family in their quest, said that in spite of initial scepticism, he considered the concept "forward-looking", and "innovative".
When he spoke with the family, he mentioned they appreciated the unconventional character of their requirement, and how immature their son is.
Nevertheless, they clarified that they "preferred not to postpone any longer" to get a tutor, as they had waited until their firstborn was five, and by that stage "cultural conditioning had already become established".
What exactly did the family mean by "cultural bias"?
It's "comprehensive", Adam answered. "The way you eat, the way you speak".
He said the elder child had absorbed "really subtle, body language" from the family, and had adopted their cultural habits. The family explained to Adam they wished to avoid the same situation to recur with their younger child.
The strategy: To engage a British tutor, who must speak with standard English accent, to shape the baby right from the beginning.
Osmotic Learning
"A great deal of the learning at the beginning here is somewhat osmotic," explained Adam.
It's through this natural absorption that the family are expecting the child will acquire the UK customs they want to instil.
Adam said the tutor must be an individual who attended "the right kinds of schools – the same kinds of schools as the family aspire to send their son to".
"The instructor must be the appropriate candidate, they'll be performing things they may not realize they're doing, simply by nature," he said.
Expense Not a Factor
The family told the expert the chosen tutor should ideally also have knowledge of or enthusiasm in horse riding, winter sports, creative fields and music so as to inspire the child in a broad spectrum of passions.
More than that though, he explained the family desired the tutor to sign up the child on a selection of courses so the child would be "horseback riding and picking up an instrument by the time they are about three years old".
In the family's perspective, assisting their son grow into a "British gentleman" will lead to success and open doors.
"For all the rights and wrongs of that, because it's undoubtedly a social class indicator," he comments.
Yet, notwithstanding all this guidance in "English culture", might the child absorb alleged cultural bias from the multicultural family he is raised by regardless?
"Absolutely", replied Adam. "The family realize this might not succeed, but they've simply adopted the view of, 'why not attempt it and let's go as soon as we can', because the expense of it is not relevant," he explained.
Overly Optimistic
Several in the tutoring industry who have these reservations.
Peter Cui, chief executive of Blue Education, who also offer individual instructors, commented that "the development of embracing two identities, or actually, becoming oneself, is something that must be lived into, not engineered."
The expert wrote that he had moved from China to the Britain at the time of childhood, and had been educated understanding and practicing dual heritages. He went on to be educated at a prestigious UK institution.
"The notion that a single person can act as a representation of Britishness, an individual who can possibly transplant the qualities of a English gentleman onto a 12-month-old child, seems to me idealistic and impractical," he wrote.
"Based on my background, engaging a distinctly UK tutor from early childhood will not necessarily create the goal they desire.
"I never had such a figure, and nevertheless I have been lucky enough to enjoy numerous of the experiences they desire for their son."
He continued: "The fact is, personal identity should not be imposed from the outside; it must be selected, and it must be internally driven."
Purchasing UK Culture
Naturally, Britishness is something Adam hopes can be instructed – and sold.
"In my view the reality that the world regards us in this light is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
