"A family based in north London seeks an exceptional and qualified instructor to support their youngest child on his early path to becoming an English gentleman."
Looking at this advertisement, you might easily overlook the term "beginning" as simple figurative language.
Yet, it might be the most important part of this unique job advert, as it seeks to hire a mentor for a 12-month-old.
Hundreds of applications have already been submitted since the unnamed family posted their search for the £180,000 per year tutor, who needs to be "someone very special".
In recent few weeks, the listing has gained interest throughout the media, with several questioning why?
Forward-Thinking Method
Adam Caller, head and founder of Tutors International, which is assisting the family in their hunt, said that in spite of initial scepticism, he viewed the concept "forward-looking", and "progressive".
When he met the family, he said they recognized the atypical nature of their requirement, and how immature their son is.
However, they clarified that they "didn't want to wait any longer" to hire a tutor, as they had held off until their elder sibling was five, and by that age "cultural influence had already taken hold".
What exactly does the family refer to by "cultural bias"?
It's "everything", the expert responded. "The way you eat, how you speak".
He said the firstborn had picked up "really subtle, body language" from the family, and had assumed their cultural habits. The family informed the consultant they did not want history to happen again with their infant.
The strategy: To hire a English tutor, who must speak with Received Pronunciation, to influence the baby from day one.
Osmotic Learning
"A lot of the education at the start here is somewhat acquired indirectly," stated the expert.
It's by means of this osmosis that the family are hoping the child will adopt the British traits they wish to impart.
He said the tutor needed to be someone who went to "prestigious academies – similar types of schools as the family plan to send their son to".
"The tutor must be the right kind of person, they'll be doing things they may not realize they're doing, effortlessly," he said.
Money No Object
The family informed him the successful candidate should ideally also have knowledge of or passion in riding, alpine skiing, the arts and music so as to inspire the child in a diverse set of hobbies.
More than that though, he explained the family desired the tutor to register the child on a range of lessons so the child would be "horseback riding and picking up an instrument by the time they are about three years old".
In the family's minds, guiding their son develop into a "English gentleman" will lead to accomplishment and open doors.
"Taking into account the pros and cons of that, because it's certainly a social class indicator," he notes.
But, despite all this instruction in "English culture", would the child adopt what is termed cultural bias from the multicultural family he lives with anyway?
"Yes", replied Adam. "They know this may not work, but they've just taken the view of, 'we should try and we'll proceed as early as we can', because the cost of it is irrelevant," he said.
Overly Optimistic
There are some in the private teaching field who express these doubts.
An education leader, CEO and founder of Blue Education, who supplies personal educators, stated that "the journey of becoming bicultural, or indeed, becoming oneself, is something that must be experienced personally, not designed."
Peter wrote that he had relocated from China to the UK at the period of seven, and had been educated understanding and practicing dual heritages. He progressed to study at a prestigious UK institution.
"The concept that one individual can function as a living vessel of Britishness, an individual who can possibly impart the attributes of a English gentleman upon a one-year-old child, appears idealistic and unrealistic," he stated.
"In my experience, having a quintessentially British tutor from babyhood will not automatically produce the result they desire.
"I never had that kind of mentor, and nevertheless I have been fortunate enough to live numerous of the situations they aspire for their son."
He stated: "The fact is, self-identity can not be imposed from the external environment; it must be selected, and it must be internally driven."
Acquiring Englishness
Of course, English culture is something the CEO hopes can be taught – and marketed.
"I think the situation that the world regards us in this regard is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
