"A household residing in north London is looking for an remarkable and skilled instructor to guide their youngest child on his initial journey to turning into an British gentleman."
Looking at this listing, you might easily skip the wording "beginning" as just figurative language.
Yet, it may be the most important element of this unique position posting, as it attempts to hire a mentor for a one-year-old.
Numerous of submissions have already been submitted since the anonymous family published their call for the highly paid tutor, who has to be "someone very special".
Over the last few weeks, the advert has attracted notice in the press, with several questioning why?
Innovative Idea
Adam Caller, CEO and founder of a global tutoring firm, which is supporting the family in their hunt, explained that notwithstanding initial skepticism, he found the plan "forward-looking", and "progressive".
When he met the family, he noted they recognized the atypical aspect of their demand, and how early in age their son is.
But, they clarified that they "were unwilling to delay any longer" to engage a tutor, as they had held off until their elder sibling was five, and by that age "cultural influence had already taken hold".
But what does the family refer to by "cultural predisposition"?
It's "everything", the expert replied. "How you eat, how you speak".
He said the elder child had picked up "very nuanced, non-verbal cues" from the family, and had adopted their cultural norms. The family told the consultant they did not want this pattern to repeat itself with their younger child.
The intention: To engage a UK tutor, who should speak with RP, to influence the baby from day one.
Subtle Influence
"A lot of the education at the outset here is kind of osmotic," stated Adam.
It's via this natural absorption that the family are expecting the child will acquire the UK customs they aim to instil.
Adam noted the tutor needed to be an individual who studied at "the appropriate educational institutions – the same kinds of schools as the family plan to send their son to".
"The educator must be the suitable individual, they'll be performing things they aren't even aware they're doing, effortlessly," he added.
Money No Object
The family informed the expert the selected educator should ideally also have familiarity of or passion in riding, alpine skiing, creative fields and music so as to shape the child in a diverse set of passions.
Additionally though, he stated the family hoped the tutor to register the child on a range of classes so the child would be "horseback riding and picking up an instrument by the time they are around three years old".
In the family's minds, guiding their son develop into a "UK sophisticate" will lead to accomplishment and provide access.
"Considering the pros and cons of that, because it's certainly a social class indicator," he comments.
Yet, in spite of all this tutelage in "Britishness", could the child pick up alleged cultural bias from the globally influenced family he is raised by regardless?
"Absolutely", replied Adam. "They understand this could fail, but they've simply adopted the perspective of, 'let's give it a go and we'll proceed as soon as we can', because the price of it is not a concern," he said.
Idealistic and Unrealistic
There are some in the education sector who have similar concerns.
Another CEO, head and founder of an educational organization, who supplies private tutors, commented that "the development of adopting dual cultures, or actually, becoming oneself, is something that must be grown into, not engineered."
The expert noted that he had moved from the Far East to the United Kingdom at the time of childhood, and had been brought up knowing and living dual heritages. He went on to learn at Cambridge University.
"The notion that an individual can act as a living vessel of UK identity, a person who can in some way transfer the qualities of a British gentleman to a infant child, appears optimistic and unrealistic," he wrote.
"In my experience, having a distinctly British tutor from babyhood will will not instantly achieve the result they hope for.
"I never had that kind of mentor, and however I have been privileged enough to live numerous of the situations they aspire for their son."
He continued: "The reality is, cultural identity can not be forced from the outside; it must be selected, and it must originate internally."
Purchasing UK Culture
Certainly, UK identity is something Adam thinks can be taught – and commercialized.
"In my view the situation that the global community holds us in this regard is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
