"A family residing in North London wants to find an remarkable and experienced instructor to guide their most junior child on his early path to growing into an English gentleman."
Looking at this advertisement, you might easily overlook the wording "beginning" as just a turn of phrase.
But, it may be the crucial aspect of this unique position posting, as it seeks to recruit a tutor for a one-year-old.
Hundreds of submissions have since been sent in since the unidentified family published their search for the highly paid tutor, who needs to be "an exceptional individual".
In recent few weeks, the listing has received notice throughout the press, with numerous wondering why?
Forward-Thinking Method
Adam Caller, head and founder of an education consultancy, which is supporting the family in their quest, said that in spite of early skepticism, he viewed the concept "far sighted", and "progressive".
When he met the family, he noted they recognized the unusual aspect of their demand, and how early in age their son is.
Nevertheless, they clarified that they "preferred not to postpone any longer" to engage a tutor, as they had held off until their firstborn was five, and by that point "cultural influence had by then taken hold".
But what did the family indicate by "cultural leaning"?
It's "comprehensive", Adam answered. "The manner you eat, how you speak".
He said the firstborn had picked up "extremely delicate, body language" from the family, and had adopted their cultural habits. The family explained to Adam they did not want history to repeat itself with their new baby.
The plan: To hire a UK tutor, who must speak with Received Pronunciation, to guide the baby right from the beginning.
Osmotic Learning
"A great deal of the learning at the start here is somewhat acquired indirectly," explained Adam.
It's through this natural absorption that the family are hoping the child will adopt the British traits they want to impart.
He said the tutor needed to be someone who attended "the right kinds of schools – comparable categories of schools as the family plan to send their son to".
"The tutor just has to be the right kind of person, they'll be doing things they don't even know they're doing, just naturally," he commented.
Money No Object
The family explained to the expert the selected educator should preferably also have knowledge of or enthusiasm in horse riding, skiing, creative fields and instrumental training so as to shape the child in a diverse set of passions.
Furthermore though, he said the family wanted the tutor to sign up the child on a range of classes so the child would be "horseback riding and starting an musical instrument by the time they are around three years old".
In the family's perspective, guiding their son grow into a "UK sophisticate" will bring about success and create opportunities.
"Considering the advantages and disadvantages of that, because it's definitely a class statement," he adds.
Yet, despite all this guidance in "Britishness", could the child absorb so-called cultural influence from the globally influenced family he resides with anyway?
"Absolutely", said the CEO. "The family realize this may not work, but they've merely embraced the attitude of, 'we should try and we should start as soon as we can', because the cost of it is not relevant," he stated.
Overly Optimistic
There are some in the tutoring industry who express those reservations.
Peter Cui, head and founder of an educational organization, who provides private tutors, wrote that "the journey of adopting dual cultures, or actually, becoming oneself, is something that must be lived into, not manufactured."
He wrote that he had moved from the Far East to the UK at the age of 7 years old, and had been brought up experiencing and practicing dual heritages. He progressed to learn at the University of Cambridge.
"The notion that an individual can act as a representation of UK identity, a person who can possibly transfer the characteristics of a UK sophisticate to a infant child, strikes me as optimistic and unfeasible," he commented.
"From my perspective, having a distinctly English tutor from babyhood will will not necessarily produce the outcome they hope for.
"I wasn't provided with that kind of mentor, and however I have been fortunate enough to experience many of the situations they hope for their son."
He continued: "The fact is, personal identity should not be forced from the outside influences; it must be selected, and it must be internally driven."
Acquiring Englishness
Certainly, Britishness is something the expert thinks can be instructed – and marketed.
"I think the fact that the international society regards us in this respect is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
