"A household based in North London is looking for an extraordinary and skilled tutor to guide their smallest child on his first steps to becoming an British gentleman."
Looking at this advertisement, you might easily skip the term "first-steps" as simple figurative language.
Yet, it might be the most important part of this unusual job advert, as it aims to find a teacher for a one-year-old.
Many of applications have already been submitted since the anonymous family posted their request for the highly paid tutor, who needs to be "an exceptional individual".
Over the last few weeks, the advert has attracted notice across the press, with several questioning why?
Innovative Idea
Adam Caller, head and founder of a global tutoring firm, which is assisting the family in their quest, explained that notwithstanding early scepticism, he found the idea "visionary", and "advanced".
When he met the family, he noted they recognized the atypical character of their requirement, and how early in age their son is.
But, they explained that they "were unwilling to delay any longer" to hire a tutor, as they had postponed until their older child was five, and by that point "cultural influence had by then set in".
But what does the family refer to by "cultural leaning"?
It's "comprehensive", he answered. "The manner you eat, how you speak".
He stated the older sibling had adopted "really subtle, unspoken signals" from the family, and had adopted their cultural habits. The family informed the consultant they hoped to prevent the same situation to happen again with their younger child.
The strategy: To hire a British tutor, who must speak with standard English accent, to guide the baby from day one.
Subtle Influence
"A great deal of the development at the start here is rather absorbed naturally," said Adam.
It's by means of this osmosis that the family are expecting the child will pick up the UK customs they want to instil.
He said the tutor needed to be someone who studied at "the right kinds of schools – comparable categories of schools as the family hope to send their son to".
"The tutor just has to be the right kind of person, they'll be doing things they may not realize they're doing, effortlessly," he commented.
Expense Not a Factor
The family told him the successful candidate should preferably also have familiarity of or passion in equestrian activities, alpine skiing, the arts and music so as to inspire the child in a wide range of hobbies.
Furthermore though, he said the family wanted the tutor to sign up the child on a selection of lessons so the child would be "equestrian training and starting an tool by the time they are around three years old".
In the family's perspective, assisting their son develop into a "English gentleman" will result in success and create opportunities.
"Considering the pros and cons of that, because it's certainly a class statement," he notes.
Yet, notwithstanding all this guidance in "English culture", would the child pick up what is termed cultural bias from the international family he is raised by anyway?
"Certainly", said Adam. "The family realize this might not succeed, but they've just taken the attitude of, 'we should try and let's go as early as we can', because the price of it is not relevant," he said.
Overly Optimistic
Several in the tutoring industry who have these concerns.
Another CEO, CEO and founder of a tutoring service, who supplies personal educators, wrote that "the journey of adopting dual cultures, or actually, forming one's identity, is something that must be experienced personally, not manufactured."
The expert explained that he had relocated from Asia to the Britain at the time of seven, and had been educated experiencing and practicing both cultures. He continued to be educated at the University of Cambridge.
"The idea that one individual can function as a representation of Britishness, someone who can possibly impart the characteristics of a English gentleman onto a 12-month-old child, seems to me optimistic and unrealistic," he commented.
"Based on my background, engaging a quintessentially English tutor from babyhood will does not instantly achieve the result they want.
"I wasn't provided with such a figure, and yet I have been privileged enough to enjoy several of the experiences they hope for their son."
He stated: "The reality is, cultural identity should not be forced from the outside influences; it must be chosen, and it must come from within."
Acquiring Englishness
Certainly, English culture is something the expert thinks can be educated – and commercialized.
"I believe the situation that the world regards us in this regard is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
