"A household residing in North London is looking for an extraordinary and skilled instructor to guide their most junior child on his first steps to growing into an English gentleman."
Upon seeing this listing, you might naturally miss the wording "initial stages" as just figurative language.
However, it might be the most important part of this unusual position posting, as it seeks to find a tutor for a 12-month-old.
Hundreds of applications have already been submitted since the unnamed family advertised their request for the £180k-a-year tutor, who needs to be "a uniquely qualified person".
During the past few weeks, the listing has gained attention across the media, with many wondering why?
Innovative Idea
The CEO, CEO and founder of a global tutoring firm, which is helping the family in their hunt, stated that in spite of first scepticism, he found the plan "far sighted", and "advanced".
When he spoke with the family, he said they appreciated the unconventional character of their requirement, and how young their son is.
However, they stated that they "preferred not to postpone any longer" to engage a tutor, as they had postponed until their elder sibling was five, and by that stage "cultural influence had already become established".
But what does the family mean by "cultural predisposition"?
It's "comprehensive", he answered. "The manner you eat, how you speak".
He explained the older sibling had adopted "extremely delicate, non-verbal cues" from the family, and had adopted their cultural norms. The family informed him they did not want history to repeat itself with their new baby.
The plan: To engage a English tutor, who must speak with standard English accent, to shape the baby right from the beginning.
Subtle Influence
"A lot of the education at the start here is rather osmotic," said the expert.
It's via this osmosis that the family are expecting the child will adopt the British traits they wish to instil.
Adam explained the tutor must be an individual who attended "prestigious academies – comparable categories of schools as the family plan to send their son to".
"The tutor must be the right kind of person, they'll be carrying out things they don't even know they're doing, effortlessly," he said.
Expense Not a Factor
The family told Adam the chosen tutor should ideally also have knowledge of or passion in horse riding, skiing, creative fields and instrumental training so as to shape the child in a wide range of hobbies.
More than that though, he explained the family desired the tutor to enrol the child on a range of classes so the child would be "pony-riding and learning an tool by the time they are about three years old".
In the family's minds, assisting their son become a "British gentleman" will bring about achievement and create opportunities.
"Taking into account the rights and wrongs of that, because it's certainly a social class indicator," he comments.
However, despite all this instruction in "English culture", would the child adopt what is termed cultural influence from the international family he lives with in any case?
"Absolutely", answered he. "The parents understand this could fail, but they've simply adopted the perspective of, 'let's give it a go and we'll proceed as quickly as we can', because the cost of it is not relevant," he explained.
Impractical
A number of in the private teaching field who share those doubts.
Peter Cui, chief executive of an educational organization, who supplies individual instructors, commented that "the journey of adopting dual cultures, or indeed, discovering oneself, is something that must be experienced personally, not designed."
Peter wrote that he had emigrated from China to the United Kingdom at the age of childhood, and had been educated understanding and practicing dual heritages. He progressed to learn at the University of Cambridge.
"The concept that a single person can function as a embodiment of English culture, a person who can possibly transfer the characteristics of a UK sophisticate upon a infant child, strikes me as naive and unrealistic," he wrote.
"From my perspective, employing a quintessentially English tutor from early childhood will will not automatically achieve the goal they hope for.
"I did not have such a figure, and nevertheless I have been lucky enough to live several of the experiences they hope for their son."
He stated: "The reality is, cultural identity can not be forced from the outside; it must be selected, and it must be internally driven."
Buying Britishness
Of course, UK identity is something Adam thinks can be taught – and sold.
"I think the situation that the international society views us in this respect is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
