"Parents residing in the northern part of London seeks an extraordinary and skilled educator to assist their smallest child on his early path to becoming an English gentleman."
Looking at this listing, you might easily miss the phrase "first-steps" as simple an expression.
Yet, it might be the most significant element of this unusual employment listing, as it seeks to find a teacher for a one-year-old.
Hundreds of submissions have now been sent in since the anonymous family published their request for the £180,000 per year tutor, who must be "an exceptional individual".
During the past few weeks, the listing has attracted interest in the press, with many wondering why?
Innovative Idea
The CEO, CEO and founder of an education consultancy, which is supporting the family in their quest, said that in spite of first skepticism, he found the concept "forward-looking", and "progressive".
When he met the family, he said they appreciated the atypical aspect of their request, and how young their son is.
However, they clarified that they "didn't want to wait any longer" to hire a tutor, as they had held off until their firstborn was five, and by that age "cultural conditioning had already set in".
What exactly does the family refer to by "cultural predisposition"?
It's "comprehensive", Adam answered. "The manner you eat, the way you speak".
He stated the firstborn had picked up "extremely delicate, non-verbal cues" from the family, and had adopted their cultural ways. The family informed him they hoped to prevent history to happen again with their infant.
The plan: To hire a English tutor, who needs to speak with standard English accent, to guide the baby from the very start.
Subtle Influence
"A great deal of the learning at the outset here is rather acquired indirectly," stated the expert.
It's through this subtle influence that the family are expecting the child will acquire the English characteristics they want to instil.
He explained the tutor must be somebody who went to "the right kinds of schools – similar types of schools as the family plan to send their son to".
"The instructor just has to be the appropriate candidate, they'll be carrying out things they may not realize they're doing, just naturally," he commented.
Money No Object
The family told him the chosen tutor should ideally also have understanding of or passion in riding, alpine skiing, creative fields and music so as to inspire the child in a wide range of passions.
Furthermore though, he stated the family wanted the tutor to enrol the child on a variety of lessons so the child would be "horseback riding and learning an instrument by the time they are around three years old".
In the family's perspective, assisting their son develop into a "British gentleman" will result in success and provide access.
"Taking into account the advantages and disadvantages of that, because it's definitely a class statement," he adds.
Yet, in spite of all this guidance in "Britishness", might the child absorb what is termed cultural leaning from the globally influenced family he lives with regardless?
"Yes", answered Adam. "The parents know this could fail, but they've merely embraced the perspective of, 'why not attempt it and let's go as soon as we can', because the price of it is not a concern," he explained.
Idealistic and Unrealistic
A number of in the tutoring industry who share these reservations.
Another CEO, head and founder of Blue Education, who supplies private tutors, commented that "the process of adopting dual cultures, or in fact, forming one's identity, is something that must be lived into, not manufactured."
Peter wrote that he had moved from Asia to the United Kingdom at the period of childhood, and had been educated knowing and embodying both cultures. He went on to be educated at Cambridge University.
"The concept that one individual can serve as a embodiment of UK identity, an individual who can possibly impart the qualities of a English gentleman onto a 12-month-old child, strikes me as optimistic and unrealistic," he stated.
"Based on my background, employing a distinctly English tutor from early childhood will does not automatically achieve the outcome they want.
"I never had that kind of mentor, and however I have been fortunate enough to experience numerous of the opportunities they aspire for their son."
He continued: "The fact is, self-identity should not be imposed from the external environment; it must be selected, and it must come from within."
Buying Britishness
Of course, English culture is something the CEO believes can be instructed – and marketed.
"In my view the reality that the global community holds us in this respect is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
