"A family residing in north London wants to find an extraordinary and experienced tutor to support their youngest child on his first steps to turning into an English gentleman."
When reading this advertisement, you might naturally skip the phrase "beginning" as just figurative language.
But, it may be the crucial element of this unique job advert, as it aims to recruit a mentor for a 12-month-old.
Hundreds of responses have already been received since the anonymous family advertised their search for the £180k-a-year tutor, who must be "an exceptional individual".
Over the last few weeks, the post has attracted interest in the media, with several asking why?
Forward-Thinking Method
The CEO, head and founder of a global tutoring firm, which is assisting the family in their search, stated that notwithstanding first scepticism, he viewed the concept "far sighted", and "advanced".
When he spoke with the family, he noted they recognized the atypical nature of their requirement, and how young their son is.
However, they clarified that they "preferred not to postpone any longer" to engage a tutor, as they had waited until their elder sibling was five, and by that age "cultural bias had already set in".
What precisely did the family indicate by "cultural predisposition"?
It's "everything", the expert replied. "The manner you eat, the way you speak".
He explained the elder child had adopted "extremely delicate, body language" from the family, and had taken on their cultural habits. The family explained to the consultant they did not want history to repeat itself with their younger child.
The plan: To engage a English tutor, who needs to speak with Received Pronunciation, to influence the baby from day one.
Osmotic Learning
"A great deal of the development at the outset here is kind of acquired indirectly," stated the CEO.
It's through this subtle influence that the family are expecting the child will acquire the UK customs they want to instil.
The consultant explained the tutor had to be someone who attended "the right kinds of schools – similar types of schools as the family plan to send their son to".
"The educator just has to be the suitable individual, they'll be performing things they aren't even aware they're doing, effortlessly," he commented.
Cost Not Relevant
The family informed him the selected educator should preferably also have understanding of or enthusiasm in riding, alpine skiing, the arts and instrumental training so as to shape the child in a diverse set of hobbies.
More than that though, he said the family desired the tutor to enrol the child on a range of classes so the child would be "pony-riding and picking up an instrument by the time they are around three years old".
In the family's minds, helping their son grow into a "English gentleman" will result in success and provide access.
"Taking into account the advantages and disadvantages of that, because it's undoubtedly a social class indicator," he notes.
Yet, in spite of all this guidance in "UK identity", would the child adopt alleged cultural leaning from the international family he lives with in any case?
"Yes", replied he. "They understand this could fail, but they've just taken the perspective of, 'why not attempt it and we'll proceed as early as we can', because the price of it is not a concern," he explained.
Overly Optimistic
A number of in the tutoring industry who have these doubts.
Another CEO, CEO and founder of Blue Education, who provides personal educators, stated that "the journey of becoming bicultural, or in fact, discovering oneself, is something that must be experienced personally, not designed."
Peter noted that he had relocated from China to the Britain at the age of 7 years old, and had been brought up knowing and embodying both cultures. He progressed to study at a prestigious UK institution.
"The concept that one individual can function as a living vessel of Britishness, someone who can somehow transfer the qualities of a British gentleman upon a infant child, strikes me as naive and impractical," he stated.
"Based on my background, employing a quintessentially English tutor from infancy will will not automatically produce the goal they want.
"I did not have such a tutor, and however I have been privileged enough to live several of the situations they desire for their son."
He added: "The fact is, cultural identity should not be forced from the external environment; it must be selected, and it must be internally driven."
Buying Britishness
Of course, Britishness is something the CEO thinks can be instructed – and commercialized.
"I believe the fact that the world views us in this light is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
