"A family located in north London is looking for an exceptional and qualified tutor to assist their most junior child on his early path to growing into an English gentleman."
When reading this advertisement, you might naturally skip the term "beginning" as mere figurative language.
Yet, it could be the most significant element of this unusual employment listing, as it aims to recruit a mentor for a 12-month-old.
Numerous of submissions have now been received since the unnamed family posted their request for the £180,000 per year tutor, who needs to be "someone very special".
During the past few weeks, the post has attracted attention across the media, with numerous wondering why?
Innovative Idea
Adam Caller, chief executive of a global tutoring firm, which is assisting the family in their hunt, stated that notwithstanding initial skepticism, he viewed the plan "forward-looking", and "advanced".
When he consulted the family, he noted they appreciated the unusual aspect of their request, and how immature their son is.
However, they stated that they "didn't want to wait any longer" to get a tutor, as they had held off until their elder sibling was five, and by that age "cultural bias had already taken hold".
But what did the family refer to by "cultural bias"?
It's "all-encompassing", he replied. "The manner you eat, the manner you speak".
He stated the firstborn had picked up "really subtle, unspoken signals" from the family, and had adopted their cultural ways. The family informed him they hoped to prevent the same situation to repeat itself with their younger child.
The plan: To hire a English tutor, who must speak with Received Pronunciation, to influence the baby right from the beginning.
Natural Absorption
"A lot of the learning at the start here is rather acquired indirectly," explained the CEO.
It's by means of this subtle influence that the family are hoping the child will pick up the UK customs they aim to impart.
He noted the tutor must be somebody who attended "the right kinds of schools – similar types of schools as the family aspire to send their son to".
"The tutor just has to be the right kind of person, they'll be carrying out things they may not realize they're doing, just naturally," he added.
Cost Not Relevant
The family informed Adam the selected educator should ideally also have familiarity of or passion in equestrian activities, skiing, creative fields and musical activities so as to shape the child in a wide range of hobbies.
More than that though, he said the family wanted the tutor to enrol the child on a range of lessons so the child would be "horseback riding and starting an instrument by the time they are about three years old".
In the family's minds, assisting their son grow into a "British gentleman" will bring about accomplishment and provide access.
"Taking into account the rights and wrongs of that, because it's undoubtedly a social class indicator," he notes.
However, in spite of all this instruction in "English culture", could the child adopt so-called cultural bias from the globally influenced family he resides with in any case?
"Certainly", said he. "The parents understand this may not work, but they've merely embraced the perspective of, 'why not attempt it and we should start as quickly as we can', because the cost of it is not relevant," he said.
Overly Optimistic
A number of in the education sector who share similar concerns.
Peter Cui, CEO and founder of an educational organization, who also offer individual instructors, wrote that "the journey of adopting dual cultures, or indeed, forming one's identity, is something that must be grown into, not engineered."
The expert wrote that he had emigrated from Asia to the Britain at the time of seven, and had been brought up experiencing and living both cultures. He went on to study at the University of Cambridge.
"The notion that one individual can serve as a representation of English culture, a person who can somehow transplant the qualities of a British gentleman onto a 12-month-old child, seems to me optimistic and unrealistic," he commented.
"From my perspective, employing a quintessentially UK tutor from early childhood will will not necessarily achieve the result they hope for.
"I wasn't provided with that kind of mentor, and yet I have been fortunate enough to live numerous of the situations they aspire for their son."
He stated: "The reality is, cultural identity cannot be dictated from the outside influences; it must be selected, and it must originate internally."
Buying Britishness
Of course, UK identity is something the expert thinks can be instructed – and commercialized.
"I believe the fact that the global community views us in this respect is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
